UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALtPORNtA 


GLIMPSES 


OF 


LIFE  AND  MANNERS  IN  PERSIA, 


BY    LADY    SHEIL. 


WITH  NOTES  ON  EUSSIA,  KOORDS,  TOORKOMANS, 
NESTORIANS,  KHIYA,  AND  PERSIA. 


\i\  lustrations, 


LONDON: 

JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE  STREET. 
1856. 


The  right  qf  Trwulation  it  retervtd. 


LONDON  :    PRINTED  BT  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,  STAMFORD  STREET, 
AND  CHARINO  CROSS. 


PREFACE. 


SIR  JOHN  MALCOLM,  Sir  John  M'Donald,  Sir  Robert 
Porter,  Mr.  Morier,  and  Mr.  Fraser,  have  nearly  ex- 
hausted the  subject  of  Persia.  The  histories,  the  travels, 
and  the  novels  of  these  distinguished  writers  have  made 
the  world  acquainted  with  the  literature,  the  geography, 
the  commerce,  and  the  antiquities  of  that  country.  The 
present  volume  is  simply  an  attempt  to  describe  the 
manners  and  the  tone  of  feeling  and  society  at  the  present 
day.  There  seemed  at  one  moment  a  prospect  that  Persia 
would  hold,  as  friend  or  foe,  a  prominent  position  before 
the  English  public.  This  anticipation  led  first  to  the 
production  of  these  pages.  Even  now  the  altered  aspect 
of  political  affairs  may  not  perchance  have  deprived  them 
of  all  interest. 

The  Notes  attached  to  this  volume  are  written  by  my 
husband.  There  are  in  Persia  many  subjects  not  ac- 
cessible to  female  inquiry ;  yet  the  absence  of  all  allusion 
to  them,  even  in  a  trifling  production  like  this,  would  ren- 
der these  pages  more  incomplete  than,  it  may  be  feared, 
they  actually  are. 


a  2 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Motive  for  writing  this  book  —  Our  party  —  Progress  to  Berlin  — 
Encounter  with  the  police  —  Russian  railroads  —  Arrival  in 
Warsaw  —  General  Lamoriciere  —  Death  of  the  Grand  Duke 
Michael  —  Etiquette  in  the  Emperor's  Park  —  Theatre  at  Warsaw 

—  Masourka  —  Audience  with  the  Emperor  Nicholas  —  Jews  hi 
Warsaw Page  1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Departure  from  Warsaw  —  Feldt  Yager  —  Russian  post-houses  — 
Gy  tomir  —  Kief  —  St.  Sophia  —  Baptism  in  the  Dnieper  —  Suspen- 
sion-bridge over  the  Dnieper  —  Progress  to  Odessa  —  Appearance 
of  the  people  —  Jewish  Synagogue  —  Odessa  —  Prince  Woronzow 

15 

CHAPTER  m. 

Russian  steamboat  —  Our  fellow-passengers  —  Russian  resources  for 
passing  the  time  —  '  Mes  Memoires '  —  Sebastopol  —  Balaclava 

—  Crimean    scenery  —  Yalta  —  Aloupka  —  Wine-making    in    the 
Crimea  —  Russian  ladies  in  distress  —  Tartar  bandit  —  Jews  in 
the  Crimea  —  Simpheropol  —  Kaffa  —  Kertch  —  Museum  —  Pass- 
age to  Taman 25 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Passage  to  Taman  —  Russian  hospitals  —  Line  of  the  Kuban  — 
Russian  sentinels  perched  on  platforms  —  Cossacks  of  the  line  — 
Ekaterinodar  —  Stavropol  —  Our  Armenian  hostess  —  Novel  mode 
of  ablution  —  Giorgesk  —  Caucasian  watering-place  —  Vladikaf  kaz, 
the  key  of  the  Caucasus  —  Curious  moile  of  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity among  the  Ossets  —  Shainil  —  Across  the  Caucasus  to 

TifliB 40 

a  3 


VI  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Tiflis  sacked  by  the  Persians  —  Prince  Woronzow's  improvements  — 
Georgian  drinking  parties  —  Armenian  Patriarch  —  Gookcha  Lake 

—  Supper    at  Erivan  —  Etchmiatzin  —  Nakhshewan  —  Our   host 
and  hostess  —  Night  at  the  Aras  —  Crossing  the  frontier  —  Fare- 
well to  Russia Page  61 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Arrival  in  Persia  —  Aspect  of  the  country  —  Want  of  population  — 
Warlike  costume  —  The  unfortunate  cow  —  Marand  —  The  Azan 

—  Our  entrance  to  Tabreez  —  First  impression  of  a  Persian  city 

—  Frequent  earthquakes  —  The  Ark  —  Kajar's   coffee  —  Climate 
of  Tabreez  —  The  angel  Gabriel's  address  to  Adam  in  Turkish  — 
Languages  in  use  in  Persia 75 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Mode  of  travelling  —  Village  houses  —  Economical  fires  —  Mephitic 
springs  —  Savalandagh  —  Shrine  of  a  prophet  —  Toorkomanchaee 

—  Snow  drift  —  Journeys  of  the  couriers  —  Struggles  through  the 
snow  —  The  "Leopard's  Pass"  —  Tribe  of  Shaheesevens  migrating 

—  Sagacious  donkeys  and  hideous  old  women  —  Sultaneeya  and  its 
dome  —  Iljaetoo  Khan  —  Mode  of  irrigation  in  Persia  —  Kasveen 

—  Our  host  —  The  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  —  Alamoot  —  Hunting 
seat  of  Fetteh  Ali  Shah  —  Innumerable  family  of  that  monarch  — 
Hall  of  Audience  —  Agha  Mahommed  Khan  Kajjar  —  Plucking  out 
of  70,000  pairs  of  eyes  —  Waiting  for  good  luck  —  My  entry  into 

; ^     Tehran  —  Entry  of  Colonel  Sheil      ....   ~~  .        .98 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Dulness  of  the  life  in  Tehran  —  Gardening  —  The  Persian  language  — 
The  Moharrem  • —  Dramatic  representation  —  Fighting  among  the 
women  —  Extraordinary  overflow  of  grief  at  the  representation  — 
Visit  to  the  Shah's  mother  and  wives  —  Interior  of  the  haram  — 
Thin  costume 122 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Gebr  fire-worshippers  —  Curious  mode  of  interment  —  Mission  garden 
taken  possession  of  by  the  Persian  ladies  —  Persian  music  —  Musical 
masons  —  The  anniversary  of  Omar's  assassination  —  How  celebrated 

—  Difference  between  Turks  and  Persians  —  Persian  tolerance  — 
Debts  —  Marriage  —  Condition  of  Persian  women          .        .135 


CONTENTS.  Vll 


CHAPTER  X. 

Approach  of  Nowrooz  —  Dunning  derveeshes  —  Ceremonial  of  the 
Nowrooz  —  Her  Majesty's  birthday  —  Entertainment  to  Persians 
—  Wines  of  Sheeraz  and  Ispahan  —  Dinner  on  a  large  scale  — 
Migration  to  the  hills  —  Value  of  water  —  Our  encampment  — 
The  mission  village  —  Sanctuary  —  Miraculous  cow  —  Refugees  in 
the  missions  —  Civil  and  criminal  law  ....  Page  151 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Intense  heat  —  Excursion  up  the  mountains  —  Frightful  torrent  — 
Welcome  new  moon  —  Rigorous  Mussulman  fast  —  Rebellion  — 
Babeeism  or  socialism  —  Curious  incident  at  the  execution  of  Bab  — 
A  socialist  king  —  Babee  executions  —  Insurrection  at  Zenjan  171 


CHAPTER  XU. 

Ruins  of  Rei  —  Massacre  of  Russian  mission  —  The  camel  artillery  — 
Excursion  to  Verameen  —  Extraordinary  ruin  —  Rages  —  The  Salt 
Desert  —  Wild  asses  —  Tame  asses  ....  182 


CHAPTER  Xin. 

New  Year's  Day  —  Wool !  Wool !  —  Various  kinds  of  derveeshes,  and 
their  ceremonies  —  Freedom  of  religious  opinions  —  Custom  of 
sending  corpses  to  Kerbella  —  Disagreeable  companions  —  Ali- 
Illahism  —  Visit  to  the  Shah's  palace — Conjugal  present — The 
Shah's  sister  —  The  deserted  camel  .  .  192 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Toorkoman  hostages  —  The  banks  of  the  Goorgan  —  Toorkoman  horses 
—  Easter  —  Chaldsean  bishop  —  Mistaken  ideas  of  seclusion  among 
Persian  women  —  Dosing  of  Persian  doctors  —  Ashoorada  —  Suc- 
cessful foray  of  Toorkomans  against  the  Russians  —  Journey  to 
Ispahan  —  Dreadful  heat  —  Kouderood  —  Persian  beggar  —  The 
unlawful  lamb  —  Persian  pigs 207 


Vlll  .CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Plain  of  Gilpaegan  —  Melon-fields  —  Various  travellers  in  Looristan  — 
The  manners  of  the  Loors  —  Derveesh  All  —  Khousar  —  Ispahan 

—  Former  splendour  and  general  decay  —  Shah  Abbas' s  Hall  of 
Audience  —  Persian  frescoes  —  Felicity  of  the  pigeons  —  The  Arme- 
nians of  Julfa Page  222 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Mussulman  nurses  —  Three  various  modes  of  counting  time  in  Persia 

—  Eetribution  for  the  Russian  festivities   on  Easter   Sunday  at 
Ashoorada  —  Partial  abolition  of  the  importation  of  slaves —  Negroes 
in  Persia  —  Condition  of  slaves  in  Persia  —  Return  to  Tehran  — 
Bastinado  —  Punishment  of  a  general  for  being  defeated         .     238 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

A  night  alarm  —  The  new  Vezeer  —  The  old  Vezeer  —  His  wife  — 
Manner  of  his  execution  —  Return  and  marriage  of  his  widow  — 
Armenian  wedding  —  The  Elchees  from  Arabia,  Khiva,  and  Afghan- 
istan • —  Refugee  Afghan  Khans  —  Excursion  to  Demawend  —  The 
"  Sublime  Well"  —  Defile  and  Eelyats  —  Town  of  Ask  —  Hot 
springs  —  Mountain  chiefs  —  Ill-advised  change  of  residence  — 
Lareejauee  women  —  Lareejanee  lady  governor  —  Persian  break- 
fast —  Jonas  Hanway's  account  of  Mazenderan  —  Return  to  the 
"Sublime  Well" 248 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Return  to  Goolahek  —  Attempt  to  murder  the  Shah  —  General  flight 
into  town  —  Fate  of  the  conspirators  —  Strange  punishments  — 
Arrival  of  the  Turkish  ambassador  —  Farewell  breakfast  with  the 
Grand  Vezeer's  wife 273 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

•?  Quit  Tehran— Journey  to  Tabreez  —  Lake  of  Ooroomeeya  —  Farewell 
to  Persia  —  Oppression  of  the  Armenians  by  the  Koords  —  Our 
lodgings  in  Turkish  Armenia  —  Erzeroom  —  Road  and  journey 
from  Er/eroom  to  Trebizoud  —  Pass  of  Kara  Kappan  —  Jevezlik 

—  Trebizond  —  Quarantine  —  Lazes  —  Constantinople          .     286 


CONTENTS.  IX 

ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 
Note  (A).     Page  39. 

RUSSIAN  MILITARY  INFLUENCE  IN  THE  EAST. 

General  Macintosh's  plan  for  conducting  the  siege  of  Sebastopol  — 
Our  share  in  its  fall  —  Suggestion  for  making  military  service  com- 
pulsory —  Our  next  battle-field  against  Russia  :  prospects  if  in 
Georgia  —  Inactivity  of  Shamil  and  the  mountain  tribes  during  the 
late  war  —  The  Russian  army  in  Georgia,  its  pay  and  mortality  — 
Caucasian  tribes  —  Power  of  Russia  south  of  the  Caucasus  Page  301 

Note  (B).    Page  67. 

THE  RUINED  CITY  OP  ANI. 

Ancient  history  of  Armenia  —  Excursion  to,  and  description  of,  Ani 
—  Account  of  the  fortress  of  Gumri  —  Advantage  of  the  war  to  the 
Turks  —  Oppression  of  Armenians  by  Mahommedans  .  .  307 

Note  (C).    Page  101. 

THE  KOORDS  AND  KOORDISTAN.      v 

"  Eels  "  —  Sheghaghee  battalion  —  Estimation  of  English  officers  — 
Inhospitality —  Misconduct  and  punishment  of  native  officers  —  Fac- 
tion fights  —  Niametees  and  Hyderees  —  Mode  of  fighting  —  An 
odd  petition  —  Ardebil :  the  governor's  son  —  Drunkenness  — 
Shrine  of  Shah  Ismael  —  Marble-pits  —  Maragha  —  A  Persian  gentle- 
man —  Quail-hawking  —  The  Koords  —  Koordistan  mountains  — 
The  Afshars  —  March  in  pursuit  of  plunderers  —  Koordish  cavalry 
— Death  of  a  colonel  —  Character  of  Persians  —  Drinking-bouts  — 
Anecdotes  illustrative  of  Persian  character  and  manners  .  317 

Note  (D).    Page  103. 

TOOREOMANS. 

Treaty  of  Toorkoman  Chaee  —  Encroachments  of  Russia  —  Russian 
"  protection  "  —  Occupation  of  Ashoorada  —  Repression  of  Toorko* 
man  incursions  —  Russian  naval  strength  in  the  Caspian  .  344 


X  CONTEXTS. 

Note  (E).    Page  212. 
THE  NESTORIANS. 

Nestorian  khaleefa,  or  bishop  • —  Church  service  —  Religious  opinions 

—  Preparation  of  a  khaleefa  —  Their  sufferings  from  the  Afshars 

—  American  mission  —  French  Lazarists  —  Sectarian   disputes  — 
Interference  of  Russia  —  Question  of  descent          .        .     Page  348 

Note  (F).     Page  256. 
KHIVA. 

Journey  to  Khiva  —  Moozderan  —  Serrekhs  —  Toorkoman  horses  — 
Merve  —  The  desert  — •  Services  of  crows  —  The  oasis  —  Uzbek 
customs  —  Mode  of  extorting  confession  —  Night  visit  to  the  Khan 
of  Khiva  —  Statistics  — •  Designs  of  Russia  ....  358 

Note  (G).    Page  258. 
AFGHANISTAN. 

Our  conquest  and  defeat  —  Practicability  of  invasion  of  India  — 
Necessary  precautions  —  Importance  of  Candahar  as  a  military 
position — Russian  preparations  for  another  war  .  .  .370 


Note  (H).     Page  270. 

SILK  MANUFACTURE  OF  PERSIA. 

Importance  to  Persia  of  her  silk  manufacture  —  Silk-trade  of  Geelau  — 
Importations  from  England  —  Province  of  Geelan  —  Gipsies  .  375 

NOTE  ON  THE  PERSIAN  ARMY. 

Origin  of  the  Persian  regular  army  —  English  influence  —  Attempted 
reform  —  Character  of  the  soldier  —  The  officers  —  The  artillery  — 
The  infantry  —  The  cavalry  .......  380 


CONTENTS.  XI 


NOTE  ON  THE  PERSIAN  REVENUE. 

Low  state  of  the  revenue  of  Persia  —  System  of  the  late  Shah  —  Taxes 
—  Expenditure  —  Revenue  from  the  principal  provinces  —  Cultiva- 
tion of  land  —  Causes  of  the  decline  of  Persia  .  .  Page  386 


NOTE  ON  TRIBES. 

Tribes  and  races  —  Leks  and  Koords  —  Arabs  —  Decline  of  the  tribe 
system  —  Enumeration  of  tribes 393 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


KURDS  CHARGING,  WITH  KETTLE-DRUMMERS  LEADING  Frontispiece. 

PERSIAN  LADY  RECEIVING  A  EUROPEAN  LADY.        .        to  face  page  131 

PERSIAN  LADY  IN  WALKING  COSTUME       ...  „          145 

CAMEL  ARTILLERY „         185 

CARAVAN  OF  PILGRIMS,  WITH  CORPSES,  GOING  TO 

KERBELLA „          197 

NASR  OOD-DEEN,  THE  SHAH  OF  PERSIA    ...  „         203 

PERSIAN  WOMEN  SEATED  ON  A  CARPET  GOSSIPING 

OUTSIDE  THE  DOCTOR'S  DOOR                         .        .  „          213 


GLIMPSES 

OF 

LIFE  AND  MANNERS  IN  PERSIA. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

Motive  for  writing  this  book  —  Our  party  —  Progress  to  Berlin  — 
Encounter  with  the  police  —  Russian  railroads  —  Arrival  in 
"Warsaw  —  General  Larnoriciere  —  Death  of  the  Grand  Duke 
Michael  —  Etiquette  in  the  Emperor's  Park  —  Theatre  at  Warsaw 
—  Masourka  —  Audience  with  the  Emperor  Nicholas  —  Jews  in 
Warsaw. 

A  FEW  years  ago  it  fell  to  ray  lot  to  make  a  journey  to 
Persia,  and  to  reside  there  nearly  four  years.*  At  this 
moment,  when  public  attention  is  so  much  directed  to  the 
East,  I  have  thought  my  recollections  of  the  scenes  I 
have  visited  may  not  be  without  interest  to  a  few  readers. 
One  advantage  I  enjoyed  over  many  preceding  travellers 
in  Persia.  I  have  been  able  to  see  the  anderoons  or 
harams  of  the  Shah  and  some  of  the  principal  personages 
of  his  Court ;  and  to  judge,  to  a  certain  extent,  with  my 
own  eyes,  of  the  condition  of  women  in  that  portion  of  the 
East. 

Circumstances  over  which  we  had  no  control  forced  us 
to  pursue  the  distant  route  of  Poland  and  Russia,  which, 
however,  was  to  me  rather  a  matter  of  rejoicing  than 
otherwise,  notwithstanding  the  fatigue  and  the  prospect 
of  climbing  the  Caucasus,  perhaps  in  winter,  as  I  knew 
that  in  all  probability  our  return  to  England  would  be  by 
* 


2  OUR  PARTY.  CHAP.  I. 

the  more  usual  road  of  Turkish  Armenia,  which  shall  he 
described  in  its  proper  place.  In  this  respect  I  must  give 
my  meed  of  praise  to  Russia,  for,  bad  as  may  be  the  land 
of  the  "  Moscovs,"  it  is,  for  a  lady-traveller,  far  to  be 
preferred  to  Turkish  Armenia.  "  The  Lord  deliver  me 
from  Sir  Harry  Vane  !  "  might  Cromwell  exclaim  ;  but  I 
say,  "The  Lord  deliver  me  from  Turkish  Armenia,  its 
subterranean  dwellings  and  their  blinding  smoke,  with 
cows,  buffaloes,  sheep,  goats,  asses,  horses,  fleas,  bugs, 
and  other  small  deer  unmentionable,  for  companions  and 
comrades ! " 

On  the  7th  of  August,  1849,  after  avoiding  a  formal 

\/  ~~  — — — 

leave-taking — that  dreariest  and  most  painful  mode  of 
seeking  consolation  at  parting — we  commenced  our 
journey  towards  the  land  of  the  sun.  We  were  a  cum- 
brous party,  consisting,  besides  my  husband  and  myself, 
of  three  Irish  and  one  French  servant,  and  last,  though 
far  from  least,  our  inseparable  companion  and  cherished 
friend  Crab,  who,  by  his  endearing  ways,  solaced  after- 
wards many  a  weary  hour,  but  who,  alas !  was  not 
destined  to  revisit  his  native  Scotland.  He  sleeps  deep 
in  the  waters  of  Smyrna.* 

A  railway  journey  through  Germany  offers  nothing 
new.  Its  tediousness  is  proverbial ;  and  so  special  is  the 
care  of  life  and  the  resolution  to  prevent  a  catastrophe, 
that  not  even  was  Crab  permitted  to  travel  in  our  car- 
riage, which  was  attached  to  the  train.  A  night's  rest  at 
Cologne ;  a  view  of  the  cathedral,  which  has  occupied  the 


*  This  was  a  Scotch  terrier  of  great  sagacity  and  most  exemplary 
fidelity. 


CHAP.  I.  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  POLICE.  3 

piety  and  contributions  of  Catholics  for  six  hundred  years, 
and  which  even  yet  is  only  a  magnificent  skeleton ; 
an  hour's  hurried  absence  from  the  railway  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  to  see  the  tomb  where  Charlemagne  reposes ; 
another  night's  rest  at  the  dear  and  bad  hotel  at  Magde- 
burg, which  all  travellers  should  eschew, — and  behold  us 
at  the  sombre  city  of  Berlin.  Here  we  stayed  a  week  to 
ascertain  the  movements  of  the  Russian  Court,  which  had 
passed  the  summer  in  Warsaw,  and  was  preparing  to 
return  to  Russia,  whither  it  then  seemed  likely  we  should 
be  obliged  to  proceed.  The  time  was  enlivened  by  an 
adventure  which  befell  Crab  and  his  master.  Passing 

along  the  most  public  street  one  morning,  Colonel  S 

suddenly  heard  a  yell  from  a  voice  he  well  knew,  and, 
turning  round,  he  saw  Crab  deposited  under  the  arm  of 
a  stout  man,  having  all  the  appearance  of  a  workman. 
Fully  convinced  that  nothing  less  than  robbery  was  in- 
tended, he  rushed  to  the  rescue,  and  seized  the  thief  by 
the  throat,  shouting  with  might  and  main  the  whole 
extent  of  his  German  vocabulary,  "  Der  Hund  ist  mein — 
der  Hund  ist  mein  !  "  The  thief  seemed  astonished  at  the 
assault,  and  immediately,  in  the  same  manner,  grasped 
his  assailant  by  the  collar,  but  keeping  fast  hold  of  Crab, 
and  calling  loudly  for  help.  In  a  moment  a  crowd 
assembled,  and  my  husband  found  himself  beset  from 
all  sides.  An  uproarious  brawl  followed ;  some  of  the 
townspeople  seeming  to  support  the  foreigner,  and  others 

abetting  the  thief,  Colonel  S all  the  while  gazing 

round  in  bewilderment,  there  being  no  one  in  the  crowd 
who  could  speak  English  or  French.  At  length  up  came 
the  police  in  force  and  fear,  thinking,  no  doubt,  that 

B  2 


4  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  POLICE.  CHAP.  I. 

1848  was  about  to  return.    They  made  signals  to  Colonel 

S to  accompany  them  to  the  police-office,  where  a 

person  in  authority  pronounced  Crab  to  have  committed 
a  heinous  breach  of  the  laws  of  Prussia  in  walking  about 
the  streets  of  Berlin  without  having  his  name  and  address 
labelled  to  his  neck,  for  which  delinquency  he  was  sen- 
tenced to  immediate  execution,  unless  he  saved  his  life 
by  paying  a  dollar  to  the  supposed  thief,  who  turned  out 

to  be  a  police-agent  in  disguise.     As  for  Colonel  S , 

he  was  told  he  was  the  aggressor,  and  that  he  was  to 
consider  himself  lucky  in  escaping  without  further  punish- 
ment. The  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  sent  him  an 
apology,  if  it  may  be  so  termed,  through  our  Charge 
d'Affaires  Mr.  Howard,  and  an  expression  of  regret  at 
what  had  happened ;  but,  as  my  husband  said  at  the 
time,  if  he  were  the  guilty  man,  why  should  there  be  an 
apology  ?  and,  if  he  were  not,  why  was  not  punish- 
ment inflicted  on  the  persons,  whoever  they  were,  who 
had  joined  in  the  row,  and  attacked  him  for  trying  to 
save  his  dog  from  a  thief?  I  must  own  I  felt  great  indig- 
nation, but  he  treated  the  matter  very  lightly,  saying  it 
was  nothing  but  a  street  brawl,  which  might  have  hap- 
pened to  any  one  anywhere. 

At  length,  at  the  end  of  August,  we  gladly  continued 
our  journey.  At  the  Polish  frontier  we  passed  the  night 
at  a  miserable  inn  in  the  village  of  Mitlowitz ;  a  night  of 
discomfort,  which  gave  one  a  foretaste  of  what  we  might 
expect  farther  on.  There  was  but  one  small  bed,  and 
the  servants  slept  on  benches  covered  with  leather,  and 
without  blankets  ;  this  seeming  to  be  the  ordinary  manner 
of  treating  servants  in  Russia,  where  for  them  a  stove 


CHAP.  I.  RUSSIAN  RAILROADS.  5 

answers  the  purpose  of  bed  and  blanket.  Next  morning, 
at  an  early  hour,  we  resumed  our  seats  on  the  Russian 
railway.  If  in  Germany  this  mode  of  travelling  be 
tedious  in  comparison  with  England — the  tortoise  to  the 
hare — here  it  was  infinitely  worse,  the  tortoise  had  be- 
come a  snail.  The  pace,  although  a  fast  train,  did  not 
exceed  ten  or  twelve  miles  an  hour,  and  we  stopped  every 
ten  minutes  to  deliver  letters,  or  else  to  refresh  ourselves 
with  vodka — the  eternal  vodka — which  name  one  hears  as 
often  as  "  la  goutte  "  in  France,  I  think  I  recollect  being 
told  that  the  only  fuel  used  on  this  railway  is  wood,  which 
perhaps  is  one  reason  why  they  go  so  slowly.  But  let  me 
do  justice  to  a  Russian  railway.  If  it  is  slow,  it  is  safe. 
No  "  shocking  catastrophe,"  no  "  awful  collision,"  no 
"smashing,"  is  heard  of  in  that  country.  All  is  calm,  de- 
liberate, and  safe,  with  a  complete  exemption  from  the 
agitation,  nervousness,  and  excitement  which  the  mere 
sight  of  a  railway  produces  in  England. 

"  Chi  va  piano,  va  sano ; 
Chi  va  forte,  va  alia  morte," 

say  the  Italians,  and  the  couplet  seems  to  have  been 
written  in  anticipation  of  the  locomotive  character  of  the 
respective  countries  of  Russia  and  England.  In  another 
particular,  too,  does  a  Russian  as  well  as  a  German  rail- 
way excel  that  of  England, — I  mean  the  accommodation 
afforded  to  second-class  travellers.  This  is  really  so 
comfortable  that  few  persons,  unless  the  highest  and  most 
wealthy,  make  use  of  the  first-class  accommodation  ; 
while  in  England,  with  all  our  boasting  of  equality,  &c., 
the  carriages  seem  to  be  contrived  with  such  studious 


6  WARSAW— GENERAL  LAMORICIERE.          CHAP.  I. 

discomfort  that  people  of  moderate  means  are  forced  to 
undergo  inconvenient  expenses  by  travelling  in  the  first- 
class  carriage. 

Our  fellow-travellers  were  a  wounded  and  rather  dis- 
contented Russian  general,  two  aides-de-camp  of  the 
Emperor  Nicholas,  and  one  of  Marshal  Prince  Paske- 
witch,  Viceroy  of  Poland,  all  returning  from  the  war  in 
Hungary,  which  had  just  terminated.  The  latter  were 
very  agreeable  men,  with  excellent  manners,  like,  I  am 
told,  Russians  in  general  of  their  rank.  They  spoke  but 
little  of  the  war,  or  of  the  scenes  they  had  just  quitted, 
and  during  the  time  we  were  in  their  company,  politics 
and  every  allusion  to  public  events  were  carefully  avoided  ; 
but  music,  the  court,  the  opera,  and  such  light  subjects 
they  discussed  copiously  and  agreeably. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  September  1st,  we  reached 
Warsaw,  where  we  were  most  kindly  received  by  the  late 
excellent  General  Du  Plat,  then  Consul-General  in  that 
city.  With  great  difficulty  we  found  apartments  in  an 
execrable  Polish  inn,  the  only  tolerable  hotel  being  full, 
and  occupied  by  General  Lamoriciere,  who  was  then 
Envoy  to  the  Emperor  from  the  President  Louis  Napo- 
leon. I  had  not  the  good  fortune  to  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  this  famous  commander,  whose  exile  from  his 
native  land  is  so  much  to  be  deplored  at  this  moment. 
My  husband,  however,  saw  him  more  than  once,  and 
preserves  a  pleasant  recollection  of  a  stout  little  man, 
full  of  resolution,  energy,  and  life. 

I  have  no  agreeable  remembrances  of  my  sojourn  in 
Warsaw.  We  were  very  uncomfortably  lodged,  and  so 
ill  fed,  that  every  day  we  were  forced  to  go  to  a  cafe  to 


CHAP.  I.    DEATH  OF  GRAND  DUKE  MICHAEL.        7 

seek  a  dinner,  and  besides  I  was  suffering  from  a  severe 
cold.  Warsaw  must  always  be  an  object  of  melancholy 
interest  from  historical  associations,  and  from  being  the 
representative  of  fallen  greatness  and  blighted  independ- 
ence ;  but,  to  the  mere  cursory  traveller,  it  presents  few 
materials  for  the  indulgence  of  curiosity,  unless  it  be  the 
interior  of  society,  which  my  short  stay  gave  me  no  oppor- 
tunity of  enjoying.  Thus  much  I  learned,  that  between 
the  Pole  and  the  Russian  there  was  a  marked  line,  which 
allowed  of  but  little  or  no  amalgamation  between  the  two 
races,  and  that  the  Pole  shrunk  unbendingly  from  the 
society  of  his  conquerors.  The  period  of  our  visit  to 
Warsaw  was  one  of  gloom  and  affliction  to  the  Imperial 
family.  The  Grand  Duke  Michael,  the  Emperor's 
brother,  towards  whom  he  is  said  to  have  borne  the  ten- 
derest  regard  and  affection,  was  stretched  on  the  bed  of 
grievous  illness,  which  soon  was  to  become  the  bed  of 
death.  His  Imperial  Highness  died  at  Warsaw  during 
our  stay  in  that  city,  and  this  event  interrupted,  of 
course,  the  usual  intercourse  of  society,  and  deprived  me 
of  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Court  or  any  portion  of 
the  Imperial  family.  Nearly  every  day  while  the  Grand 
Duke  lived,  a  notice  used  to  be  sent  to  the  various  foreign 
officers  in  Warsaw,  that  a  grand  review  was  to  be  held  in 
the  morning,  at  which  the  Emperor  invited  their  attend- 
ance, and  invariably  during  the  night  we  were  awakened 
by  an  orderly  bearing  an  announcement  that,  owing  to 
the  condition  of  the  Grand  Duke,  the  review  was  post- 
poned. I  thus  lost  the  sight  of  a  fine  military  pageant 
of  50,000  or  60,000  men,  headed  by  an  Emperor  in 
person. 


8  CO U  1ST  XESSELEODE.  CHAP.  I. 

It  was  not  among  the  Imperial  household  alone,  that 
the  angel  of  death  had  cast  his  dart.  Mourning  and 
grief  had  also  spread  their  veil  of  sorrow  over  the  family 
of  the  Emperor's  trusty  servant  Count  Nesselrode,  whose 
wife  had  recently  died,  and  who  was  living  in  seclusion 
with  his  daughters.  It  was  a  disappointment  to  lose  the 
occasion  I  might  otherwise  have  enjoyed,  of  seeing  the 
veteran  statesman  who  has  for  half  a  century  borne  so 
prominent  a  share  in  guiding  the  destinies  of  Russia,  and 
materially  influencing  those  of  Europe.  My  husband, 
who  saw  the  Grand  Chancellor  of  Russia,  as  I  believe  he  is 
now  styled,  more  than  once,  described  him  to  be  a  man  of 
small  stature,  slight  in  figure,  with  a  clever,  intellectual 
countenance,  full  of  keenness  and  mobility,  which  once 
must  have  been  handsome.  His  manners  are  said  to  be 
most  courteous  and  cordial.  The  Chancellor  is  presumed 
to  be  of  German  descent,  like  many  other  members  of  the 
Russian  diplomatic  service,  among  whom  may  be  cited 
Count  Pahlen,  Baron  Meyendorf,  Baron  Budberg,  Count 
Medem,  Count  Alex.  Medem,  Baron  Bruno w,  General 
Du  Hamel,  &c. 

We  often  strolled  in  the  pretty  park  where  the  Em- 
peror was  residing,  and  which  was  open  to  the  public. 
Whatever  opinion  may  be  entertained  of  his  Majesty's 
character  on  various  points,  he  certainly  possessed  a  fear- 
less mind.  In  Moscow  and  Petersburg  one  can  imagine 
he  might  free  himself  from  the  trouble  and  annoyance  of 
watching  over  the  preservation  of  his  life;  but  I  was  not 
prepared  to  see  him  equally  unguarded,  and  heedless,  in 
the  very  heart  of  Polish  enthusiasm  and  hate.  Few  or  no 
guards  were  visible  near  the  simple  edifice  which  was 


RUSSIAN  ETIQUETTE.  9 

selected  as  the  abode  of  the  Emperor,  who  seemed  to  con- 
sider the  prestige  of  his  fame  and  dignity  an  invulnerable 
panoply — as,  in  fact,  it  really  appeared  to  be,  no  attempt 
having  ever  been  made  in  Warsaw  against  his  life.  The 
trees  were  decorated  with  coloured  lamps  in  anticipation 
of  a  grand  fete,  destined  never  to  take  place,  and  which 
was  put  off  from  day  to  day,  or  rather  from  night  to  night, 
in  vain  anticipation  of  a  favourable  change  in  the  Grand 
Duke's  health.  These  decorations  had  a  forlorn  and  sad 
appearance,  I  thought.  The  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
Palace  was  surrounded  by  a  pretty  flower-garden,  which 
we  wished  to  examine,  but  on  entering  it  we  were  stopped 
by  the  sentry  at  the  gate,  who  made  significant  gestures 
to  my  husband  to  remove  his  hat  while  walking  before 
the  palace,  lest  by  some  accident  the  Emperor  might  be 
looking  out  of  the  window,  and  his  eyes  might  fall  on 
some  one  with  his  head  covered !  The  "  orgueil  Bri- 

tannique  "  of  Colonel  S would  not  allow  him  to  submit 

to  a  ceremonial,  which  seemed  to  savour  too  much  of  the 
Imperial  "  middle  kingdom,"  so  he  declined  compliance, 
and  we  went  another  way,  not  a  little  surprised  at  the 
demand ;  but  afterwards,  while  residing  at  a  house  of 
Prince  Woronzow's,  at  Vladi  Kafkaz,  we  were  still  more 
surprised  to  observe  the  soldiers  saluting  his  house  too  as 
they  passed  before  the  windows,  he  being  at  the  time  at 
Odessa  ;  yet  such  was  the  etiquette. 

Amid  the  general  gloom  of  society,  the  theatre,  during 
the  early  part  of  our  residence,  fortunately  offered  us 
some  resource.  The  scenery  and  decorations  were  excel- 
lent, the  acting  good  and  spirited,  equal  to  the  theatrical 
representations  one  finds  in  a  large  provincial  town  in 

B  3 


10  THE  MASOURKA.  CHAP.  I. 

France.  The  audience  was  numerous  and  attentive, 
seeming  to  enjoy  highly  the  comedy,  which  generally 
formed  the  subject  of  the  evening's  entertainment ;  but 
which,  being  in  Polish,  was  to  us  a  sealed  book.  It  was 
the  Masourka,  however,  which  drew  forth  unanimous  and 
most  vociferous  enthusiasm,  particularly  from  the  Russian 
officers  with  whom  the  pit  was  crowded.  Well  was  this 
beautiful  national  dance — truly  beautiful  as  danced  at 
Warsaw — entitled  to  all  their  boisterous  and  passionate 
applause.  The  women  engaged  in  the  dance  were  all 
dressed  in  the  becoming  national  costume ;  and  one 
young  lady,  remarkable  above  the  others  for  her  beauty, 
her  elegant  toilette,  and  the  energy  of  her  performance, 
which  almost  rivalled  the  vigour  of  a  Sevillana  stamping 
the  boleras,  threw  the  house  into  a  perfect  tumult  [of 
delight.  The  men  too  were  dressed  in  the  costume  of 
Poland  in  the  day  of  her  independence  and  military  re- 
nown— perhaps  the  garb  of  John  Sobieski  himself.  Each 
dancer  wore  the  heavy  long  boots  and  spurs,  and  the  pon- 
derous sabre,  without  which  the  Polish  noble  never  ap- 
peared in  public.  At  every  movement  of  the  dance  they 
sharply  struck  their  boots  and  spurs  together,  as  if  beat- 
ing time — converting  the  peaceful  and  graceful  masourka 
of  our  ball-rooms  into  a  genuine  war-dance,  in  which, 
with  hand  and  foot,  they  were  heartily  joined  by  the  Rus- 
sian officers,  who  for  the  moment  seemed  to  forget  their 
hatred  of  everything  Polish. 

Though  both  these  Sclavonic  languages  are  sprung 
from  the  same  origin,  the  roughness  of  the  Polish  in  com- 
parison with  Russian  was  very  striking  during  the  per- 
formance of  the  comedy.  Russian  seems  to  be  the  Italian 


CHAP.  I.  AUDIENCE  WITH  THE  EMPEROR.  11 

of  the  Sclavonic  tongues,  and  is  really  harmonious  to  the 
ear.  But  in  Polish  organs  of  speech  there  appears  to 
exist  an  incomprehensible  faculty  of  enunciating  at  will 
any  possible  number  of  the  most  incongruous  consonants 
without  the  intervention  of  a  vowel.  The  Russian  aide- 
de-camp  told  me  that  even  to  a  Russian,  with  all  his 
organic  flexibility,  and  his  power  of  acquiring  languages, 
the  pronunciation  of  Polish  presented  difficulties  hardly  to 
be  overcome. 

Though  I  did  not  enjoy  the  honour  of  presentation  to 
the  Emperor,  it  may  be  perhaps  interesting  that  I  should 
record  here  the  impressions  of  my  husband  when  he 
paid  his  respects  to  his  Imperial  Majesty.  After  alight- 
ing at  the  palace,  where  only  a  single  sentry  was  to  be 
seen,  he  was  shown  into  a  room  in  which  were  two  officers, 
one  of  whom  was  Marshal  Paskewitch.  He  then  passed 
into  another  chamber,  very  simply  furnished,  where  he 
remained,  expecting  an  aide-de-camp  to  conduct  him  to 
the  Emperor's  presence.  Soon  a  tall,  portly  officer,  very 
plainly  dressed  in  uniform,  with  remarkably  small  epau- 
lettes, entered  the  room ;  and  it  was  only  after  some 
moments  that  my  husband  knew  he  was  in  the  presence 
of  the  descendant  of  Ruric,  the  mighty  autocrat  of  all 
the  Russias.  A  shake  of  the  hand,  accompanied  by  a  gra- 
cious smile  of  welcome,  did  not  contribute  to  undeceive 
my  husband,  who  was  not  prepared  for  a  reception  so 
far  removed  from  state  and  formality.  The  Emperor  re- 
mained standing  during  the  audience,  which  lasted  ten 
minutes ;  he  was  most  gracious  and  affable.  He  con- 
descended to  express  regret  that  Colonel  S should  not 

have  come  to  his  court  at  a  more   favourable  moment, 


12  EASTERN  ORIGIN  OF  RUSSIANS.  CHAP.!. 

alluding  to  his  "  brother,"  to  use  his  Majesty's  own  ex- 
pression, whose  condition,  he  said,  was  hopeless. 

The  dignity  of  the  Emperor,  with  the  mien  of  conscious 
greatness  and  power  accompanying  every  action  and  look, 
made  a  great  impression  on  my  husband,  who  remarked, 
however,  that  in  his  Majesty's  eyes,  which  were  large  and 
protruding,  there  was  an  air  of  restlessness,  or  even  wild- 
ness,  far  from  agreeable.  The  spirit  as  well  as  the  blood 
of  Paul  may  have  been  in  that  majestic  frame ;  for  what 
is  unbounded  pride  but  mental  aberration  ? 

This  audience  afforded  an  opportunity  for  observing, 
that  even  now  the  Russians  have  not  forgotten  their 

Eastern  origin.  Colonel  S being  dressed  in  uniform, 

General  Du  Plat  insisted  on  enveloping  him  in  his  largest 
cloak,  as  he  would  otherwise  have  been  exposed  to  the 
derision  of  the  Russian  officers.  In  other  countries  sol- 
diers are  as  fond  as  women  of  displaying  their  feathers 
and  finery  ;  but  in  Russia,  an  officer,  the  moment  he  puts 
on  his  uniform,  carefully  hides  himself  under  an  enormous 
grey  coat,  which  his  ancestors  must  have  borrowed  from 
their  Moghul  conquerors.  This  reminds  me  of  an  anec- 
dote I  heard  in  Persia.  At  the  negotiations  which  fol- 
lowed the  conclusion  of  one  of  Persia's  disastrous  wars 
with  Russia,  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  latter  country 
thought  fit  to  indulge  in  a  little  banter,  at  the  expense  of 
Persian  manners,  morals,  integrity,  &c.,  in  comparison 
with  those  of  Europe.  The  Persian  negotiator  at  length 
lost  patience,  and  exclaimed,  "  Why  do  you  talk  so  much 
about  Europe,  as  if  you  Russians  were  Europeans? 
You  put  on  a  hat  and  trousers,  and  fancy  yourselves 
Feringhees ;  but  what  are  you  after  all,  but  the  dc- 


CHAP.  I.  JEWS  IN  WARSAW.  13 

scendants  of  the  refuse  of  Batou  Khan's  army  and  his 
Moghuls?" 

Poland  is  said  to  be  the  paradise  of  the  Jews  ;  and, 
judging  by  their  number,  both  in  Warsaw  and  on  our  line 
of  road,  even  as  far  as  Odessa,  the  sway  of  the  Czars 
appears  to  possess  large  attractions  in  their  estimation. 
Every  trade  seems  to  be  filled  up  by  them,  though  they 
have  not  acquired  a  better  reputation  in  their  dealings 
than  they  possessed  in  England  in  former  days.  Inn- 
keeping  is  one  of  their  favourite  employments — perhaps 
from  the  opportunity  it  affords  for  retaliating  on  the  Gen- 
tile some  of  the  numerous  wrongs  they  have  so  long  en- 
dured from  him  all  over  the  world.  But  a  brighter  time 
is  no  doubt  approaching  for  the  sons  of  Israel.  If  France 
has  been  first  in  rendering  justice  to  that  capacity  for  all 
the  arts  and  sciences  which  a  distinguished  writer  claims 
for  that  race,  we  may  trust  that  ere  long  in  our  own 
country  the  career  to  honour  and  distinction  will  be  un- 
reservedly laid  open  to  their  abilities.  In  the  mean  time, 
however,  nothing  can  exceed  the  misery  of  their  apparent 
condition  in  Poland.  They  are  dressed  in  rags,  dirty  in 
their  persons,  and  their  whole  appearance  is  disagreeable, 
if  not  revolting.  Peter  the  Great  is  said  to  have  objected 
to  the  residence  of  the  sons  of  Israel  in  his  dominions, 
lest,  thought  that  sagacious  Czar,  they  should  contaminate 
the  rectitude  of  the  inhabitants  of  "Holy  Russia"  by 
teaching  them  chicanery  and  intrigue.  The  chief  of  the 
house  of  Romanoff  had  only  an  indistinct  perception  of  the 
faculties  of  his  countrymen.  We  had  some  dealings  with 
a  few  of  this  race  before  our  departure  from  Warsaw,  in 
which  we  were  much  defrauded. 


14  RUSSIAN  COSTUMES.  CHAP.  I. 

At  Warsaw  we  were  regarded  as  persons  going  into 
exile  ;  and  if  we  had  bought  all  we  were  advised  as  in- 
dispensable, a  large  fourgon  should  also  have  been  pro- 
vided, to  hold  the  beds,  bedding,  basons,  tea-urns,  sauce- 
pans, and  various  other  domestic  batteries.  We  did, 
however,  purchase  a  stock  of  provisions  to  mitigate  the 
famine  with  which  we  were  threatened  on  the  road.  I 
may  remark  here,  that  the  foregoing  appurtenances  are 
considered  necessary  by  Russian  families  travelling  in 
their  own  country. 

Despotic  power  is  sometimes  capricious.  The  Jewish 
ladies  in  Poland  have  fallen  under  its  influence  in  a  manner 
which  has  certainly  contributed  to  improve  their  appear- 
ance. Formerly,  when  a  girl  was  married,  the  custom 
was  to  shave  her  head  completely,  and  she  wore  instead 
of  her  own  hair,  a  brown  or  black  silk  fillet.  By  an  im- 
perial ukase  the  Emperor  has  ordained,  that  the  Jewish 
women  shall  not  shave  their  heads,  nor  wear  these  very 
unbecoming  fillets. 

In  the  church,  on  Sunday,  I  observed  some  country 
girls  with  wreaths  of  real  flowers  on  their  heads,  which 
had  not  the  effect  of  overcoming  their  natural  plainness. 
The  men  wear  robes  like  dressing-gowns ;  and  I  could 
not  help  laughing  at  the  curious  effect  which  a  man 
ploughing  in  a  dressing-gown,  produced.  I  afterwards 
became  accustomed  to  this  style  of  garment,  for  it  is  worn 
all  over  the  East. 


CHAP.  II.  OUR  FELDT  YAGER.  15 


CHAPTER    II. 

Departure  from'  Warsaw  —  Feldt  Yager  —  Russian  post-houses  — 
Gytomir  —  Kief  —  St.  Sophia  —  Baptism  in  the  Dnieper  —  Suspen- 
sion bridge  over  the  Dnieper  —  Progress  to  Odessa  —  Appearance  of 
the  people  —  Jewish  Synagogue  —  Odessa  —  Prince  Woronzow. 

IT  is  time  to  leave  Warsaw,  where  we  have  been  detained 
too  long,  and  to  commence  our  tedious  journey  to  Odessa. 
The  extreme  kindness  of  Count  Nesselrode  had  diminished 
some  of  its  difficulties  by  assigning  us  a  non-commissioned 
officer  of  the  Feldt  Yager  (or  Government  Messenger)  de- 
partment, whose  knowledge  of  languages,  however,  being 
confined  to  German  and  Russian,  we  were  not  only  com- 
pletely in  his  hands  as  far  as  our  dealings  with  the  people 
of  the  country  were  concerned,  but  we  were  hardly  able 
to  communicate  our  wants  and  wishes.  His  presence  cer- 
tainly relieved  us  from  embarrassment,  for  in  Russia  a 
Feldt  Yager  is  nearly  as  powerful  at  the  post-houses  as 
the  Czar  himself.  His  proper  duty  was  to  drive  in 
advance,  furnished  with  his  courierski  padrojna,  which 
enabled  him  to  claim  horses  for  us,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
other  travellers,  even  if  they  had  been  harnessed  to  their 
carriages,  and  to  prepare  horses  at  the  next  stage.  He 
travelled  in  an  exceedingly  light  uncovered  waggon,  with- 
out springs,  called  a  pavoska,  drawn  by  three  horses 
abreast,  of  which  the  centre  horse  invariably  trots,  while 
the  two  others  gallop.  It  is  in  this  manner  that  the  de- 


16  OUR  FELDT  YAGER.  CHAP.  II. 

spatches  of  the  Government  are  rapidly  conveyed  all  over 
the  empire.  The  Russians  will  tell  you  that  these  couriers 
often  travel  at  the  rate  of  more  than  300  miles  a  day  for 
ten  successive  days,  which  must  be  one  of  the  exaggera- 
tions in  which  Russians  occasionally  indulge.  Be  it  as  it 
may,  these  couriers  are  indefatigable,  and  so  great  are  the 
fatigues  they  endure  in  these  shocking  waggons,  that  few 
among  them  live  to  an  advanced  time  of  life  :  and  moreover, 
being  obliged  to  travel  in  all  weathers,  night  and  day,  fair 
and  foul,  many  perish  in  the  snow.  To  them  alone  is  con- 
ceded the  cruel  privilege  of  forcing  the  horses  forward  till 
they  drop  or  die  from  fatigue.  Our  Feldt  Yager  was  not 
one  of  these  reckless  characters.  On  the  contrary,  he 
often  retarded  our  progress  by  feigning  that  the  stables 
were  empty  and  no  horses  to  be  had,  in  the  mean  time 
indulging  himself  in  a  sound  sleep  for  some  hours,  indif- 
ferent to  our  impatience  and  to  the  subsequent  detection 
of  his  falsehood.  At  other  times  he  would  stealthily  re- 
main behind  at  night,  leaving  the  Russian  postilions  to 
crawl  along  as  they  pleased,  and  then  join  us  rapidly  next 
morning.  In  short,  the  benefit  of  his  guidance  was  not 
without  alloy. 

The  tendency  to  exaggeration  alluded  to  above,  as  seen 
in  many  Russians,  may,  it  seems  to  me,  be  traced  to  cre- 
dulity as  much  as  to  any  other  source.  I  remember  in 
Persia  a  Russian  gentleman,  of  great  gravity  and  holding 
a  high  official  appointment,  who,  when  expatiating  on  the 
sagacity  of  the  wolves  in  his  country,  used  solemnly  to 
assert,  that  they  were  accustomed  to  swallow  a  large 
quantity  of  earth  to  make  themselves  heavy  preparatory 
to  seizing  a  cow  by  the  tail.  The  weight  of  the  earth 


CIIAP.  II.  RUSSIAN  POST-HOUSES.  17 

added  to  that  of  the  wolf  soon  rendered  the  unsuspecting 
victim  a  prey  to  the  calculating  marauder.  This  gentle- 
man was  a  native  of  Little  Russia,  where  they  are  said  to 
have  a  faith  that  ought  to  remove  the  Himalayas  them- 
selves. 

We  occupied  five  dreary  days  and  nights  in  reaching 
Kief,  our  road  lying  through  immense  plains,  intermingled 
with  prodigious  forests,  and  enlivened  here  and  there  with 
large  tracts  of  cultivation,  though  with  a  scanty  popula- 
tion, which  in  some  of  the  villages,  consisted  entirely  of 
Jews.  Twice  each  day  we  stopped  at  the  wretched  post- 
houses  to  partake  of  the  fare  they  afforded,  which  rarely 
exceeds  tea,  eggs,  and  bread,  diversified  in  Russia  with 
that  detestable  Muscovite  concoction  called  stehee,  which 
is  a  broth  composed  of  hot  water,  tallow,  cabbage,  and 
salt.  These  places  never  contained  beds  ;  a  bare  floor,  a 
wooden  bench  without  cushions,  a  few  wooden  chairs,  were 
their  sole  attractions  to  a  traveller.  These  humble  accom- 
modations were  compensated  by  civility,  cordiality,  and  a 
cheerful  alacrity  to  remedy  every  deficiency.  Gytomir, 
half  way  between  Warsaw  and  Kief,  where  we  arrived 
September  27th,  was  to  us  an  oasis  in  the  desert.  At  this 
town  we  found  a  bustling  inn,  where  we  were  delighted  to 
recruit  ourselves  with  a  dinner  of  welcome  beefsteaks,  our 
single  meal  for  five  days,  and  English  porter,  for  which 
beverage  the  Russians  entertain  even  more  devotion  than 
our  own  countrymen.  The  merits  of  Meux,  Barclay,  and 
Guinness  are  as  shrewdly  scanned  by  them  as  those  of 
Lafitte  and  Chateau  Margaux,  in  a  London  dining-room. 
Five  days  and  nights  passed  in  a  carriage,  even  with  the 
advantage  of  its  being  what  our  Irish  servant  called  a 


18  KIEF— ST.  SOPHIA.  CHAP.  II. 

"  dormouse,"  were  no  small  trial,  and  glad  we  were,  tired 
and  travelworn,  to  get  sight  of  the  "  Mother  of  Russian 
cities,"  as  Kief  from  its  antiquity  is  styled,  situated  on  a 
high  bank  overlooking  the  Dnieper.  Our  Feldt  Yager 
explained  our  slow  progress  by  invectives  against  the 
Polish  postilions,  who  were,  he  said,  of  violent  temper,  and 
would  not  allow  themselves  to  be  flogged  or  abused.  "  But 
wait,"  he  continued,  until  we  enter  Russia,  "  and  there  I 
can  do  as  I  please."  He  certainly  kept  his  promise,  both 
with  whip  and  tongue. 

We  were  most  kindly  received  in  Kief  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Vignolles,  whose  hospitality  saved  us  from  the  vexa- 
tion and  discomforts  of  a  Russian  inn,  not  the  least  of 
whose  miseries  was  the  incessant  conflict  to  be  waged  with 
the  bloodthirsty  nomadic  tribes  which  abound  in  Russian 
dormitories  at  that  season  of  the  year. 

Fatigue  had  so  overcome  my  strength,  that  I  was  glad 
to  devote  to  repose,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  three  days  we 
spent  at  Kief;  and  I  am  ashamed  to  be  obliged  to  confess 
to  the  indolence  of  not  having  seen  its  chief  curiosity, 
the  catacombs,  where  the  remains  of  so  many  saints  of  the 
Russian  calendar  are  laid.  This  city  is  to  the  Russo- 
Greek  Church  what  Rome  is  to  Catholics,  and  the  Church 
of  St.  Sophia  (the  oldest  in  Russia,  it  is  said)  is  the 
Russian  St.  Peter's,  though  mighty  is  the  difference.  It 
is  a  very  picturesque  building,  or  rather  collection  of 
buildings,  and  as  rich  as  abundance  of  gilding  both  inside 
and  out  can  make  it.  We  were  deeply  gratified  by  the 
solemn  chanting  of  the  Russian  monks,  which  surpassed, 
in  my  opinion,  in  religious  grandeur  and  effect,  the  elabo- 
rate and  scientific  psalmody  of  St.  Peter's.  At  Moscow, 


CHAP.  II.  THE  GREEK  CHURCH.  19 

and  above  all,  St.  Petersburg,  the  church  music  is  de- 
scribed as  magnificent — the  exclusion  of  all  other  than 
vocal  music  in  the  Greek  Church  having  naturally  directed 
all  the  efforts  of  the  priesthood  to  excellence  in  this  branch 
of  harmony.  The  service  was  said  to  be  in  old  Sclavonic, 
which  is  equally  unintelligible  to  the  people  at  large,  as 
Latin  to  the  majority  in  the  Catholic  Church.  The  same 
means  of  translated  prayer-books  adopted  throughout  the 
Catholic  world,  are  probably  taken  in  the  Eastern  Church 
to  remedy  the  inconvenience.  We  were  informed  that  the 
grand  festivals  of  the  Church  are  celebrated  at  Petersburg, 
Moscow,  and  Kief,  with  a  gorgeousness  far  surpassing  the 
most  imposing  solemnities  at  Rome.  The  appearance  of 
the  priests  at  Kief  was  deeply  impressive.  Their  long 
locks  and  venerable  beards  gave  them  an  apostolic  air, 
much  at  variance  with  our  ideas  of  clerical  propriety  and 
smoothness  of  face,  at  the  present  day. 

Kief  is  said  to  have  been  a  great  city  before  the  inva- 
sion of  the  Moghuls,  by  whom  it  was  utterly  destroyed. 
It  was  here,  800  years  ago,  that  Vladimir  the  Great  forced 
the  whole  population  to  embrace  Christianity  by  baptizing 
them  by  a  simultaneous  plunge  in  the  Dnieper.  The 
present  town,  like  every  city  in  Russia,  where  land  is 
abundant  and  population  scanty,  is  spread  over  a  large 
extent.  With  the  stately  Dnieper  flowing  at  its  feet,  the 
neighbouring  hills,  the  forest  and  the  steppe  in  the  dis- 
tance, the  gilded  domes  of  the  churches  glittering  and 
sparkling  on  all  sides,  it  scarcely  justifies  the  uncourteous 
remark  of  the  English  Ambassador  to  Catherine  the 
Second,  that  the  aspect  of  the  city  was  detestable. 

The  Dnieper  seems  to  be  half  a  mile  in  width,  opposite 


20  1UJSSIAN  BRIDGE.  CHAP.  II. 

to  the  city.  Mr.  Vignolles  was  employed  in  the  arduous 
undertaking  of  building  a  splendid  bridge  over  this  fine 
river,  by  a  contract  which  he  had  concluded  with  the 
Russian  Government.  His  operations  had  converted  Kief 
into  a  small  English  colony,  from  the  numerous  artisans 
whom  Mr.  Vignolles  had  brought  from  England  to  con- 
tribute their  practical  skill  to  his  science.  This  monument 
of  distinguished  English  talent  was  not  more  than  half 
built  when  we  saw  it.  The  great  difficulty  to  be  sur- 
mounted was  the  increased  weight  and  rapidity  of  the 
Dnieper  in  spring.  Mr.  Vignolles  had  suffered  a  heavy 
loss  in  the  previous  season.  The  melting  snow  and  ice 
had  filled  the  Dnieper,  which  rolled  and  rushed  against 
the  columns  of  the  rising  bridge  with  overwhelming  fury, 
and  in  a  moment  30,000/.  were  dissipated,  and  the  labour 
and  anxieties  of  two  years  scattered  to  the  winds  and 
waves.  Mr.  Vignolles  was  full  of  confidence  in  his  power 
to  baffle  all  the  insurrections  of  the  Dnieper,  and  I  hear 
that  he  has  succeeded  in  accomplishing  his  arduous  under- 
taking. Returning  from  inspecting  Mr.  Vignolles's  curious 
works,  we  drove  in  a  carnage  over  the  Russian  strange 
contrivance  for  connecting  the  two  banks  of  the  Dnieper. 
This  consisted  of  thick  planks  floating  in  the  water,  placed 
closely  side  by  side,  like  a  raft,  across  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  river,  and  braced  by  bands  of  rope  together.  At 
each  movement  of  the  wheels  and  of  the  horses,  these 
planks  sank  into  the  water,  sometimes  to  an  alarming 
depth ;  but  though  the  passage  looked  hazardous,  it  was 
free  from  danger.  Notwithstanding  its  size  and  volume 
of  water  at  Kief,  it  is  to  be  lamented  that  this  fine  stream 
should  contribute  so  little  to  the  wants  of  the  daily  in- 


CHAP.  II.  PASSAGE  OF  THE  CAUCASUS.  21 

creasing  civilization  of  the  tracts  through  which  it  rolls  its 
course.  Its  cataracts,  the  shallows  at  its  mouth,  its  shifting 
sands,  which  change  the  passage  from  year  to  year,  all 
concur  to  render  its  navigation  difficult  and  its  commerce 
comparatively  insignificant.  At  Mr.  Vignolles's  table,  it 
was  more  than  once  a  suhject  of  discussion  among  his 
intelligent  sons  and  assistants,  whether  the  impediments 
caused  by  the  cataracts  could  not  be  surmounted,  among 
other  ways,  by  a  canal  conducted  from  above  the  falls. 
When  the  temple  of  Janus  shall  be  happily  closed,  let  us 
hope  the  sovereign  of  Russia  may  find  leisure  to  solve  this 
problem. 

With  the  fear  of  the  Caucasus  before  our  eyes,  and 
nervously  anxious  to  anticipate  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  we 
hastened  to  continue  our  journey.  My  husband  had 
frightened  me  with  a  description  of  a  passage  of  these 
mountains  during  winter,  which  he  had  performed  some 
years  before.  The  mountaineers  had  cut  a  passage 
through  the  snow  exactly  the  breadth  of  the  sledge,  with 
three  fiery  courier  horses  abreast.  Above  was  a  wall  of 
snow  several  hundred  feet  high,  and  which  the  least  gust 
of  wind  would  bring  down  in  an  overwhelming  avalanche, 
while  on  the  -outside,  was  a  precipice  many  hundred  feet 
deep,  and  quite  perpendicular,  which  the  sledge  partially 
overhung.  To  add  to  his  enjoyment  of  the  sublimity  of 
the  scene,  my  husband  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  himself 
seated  on  the  outer  side  of  the  sledge,  while  the  inner  seat 
was  occupied  by  his  servant.  The  cold  was  of  such  in- 
tensity that  he  saw,  or  thought  he  saw,  the  air  in  motion, 
dancing  and  jumping  in  the  minutest  and  most  brilliant 
particles,  which  he  said  must  have  been  the  original  indi- 


22  STEPPE  OF  ODESSA.  CHAP.  II. 

visible  atoms  from  which  modern  philosophy  has  framed 
the  universe.  In  passing  by  the  spot  afterwards,  and 
seeing  how  terrible  it  was  even  in  fine  autumn  weather,  I 
rejoiced  we  had  hurried  on,  in  spite  of  fatigue,  to  escape 
the  snow. 

If  in  Poland  we  were  struck  by  a  general  air  of  poverty 
amounting  to  squalor,  in  Russia  we  were  surprised  to 
find  an  appearance  of  comfort  and  the  enjoyment  of  at 
least  the  necessaries  of  life.  Kief  contained  few  or  no 
beggars ;  all,  both  in  the  city  and  in  the  country,  seemed 
to  have  employment,  and  to  be  comfortably  clothed  and 
fed.  These  remarks  are  applicable  to  the  whole  of  the 
Russian  dominions,  in  Europe  at  least,  which  came  under 
our  observation,  and  the  effect  is  rendered  more  striking 
by  the  immediate  contrast  with  Poland.  From  what 
cause  does  this  difference  arise  ?  It  cannot  be  owing 
apparently  to  the  immense  superabundance  of  soil  in 
Russia  over  the  population,  for  in  Poland  the  inhabitants 
are  not  numerous,  nor  is  there  a  deficiency  of  land. 

Soon  after  leaving  Kief  we  entered  on  the  steppe, 
which  we  traversed  almost  up  to  Odessa.  Contrary  to 
my  expectation,  we  found  large  tracts  of  meadow,  and 
even  of  tillage,  though  at  distant  intervals.  In  fact,  in- 
stead of  being  a  barren  plain,  as  I  had  been  led  to 
imagine,  the  steppe  may  be  described  as  a  grassy  level, 
or  prairie,  highly  susceptible  of  cultivation,  and  covered 
with  aromatic  herbs  in  early  summer.  We  were  four 
days  and  nights  on  this  part  of  our  expedition,  but  the 
severe  experience  of  the  journey  from  Warsaw  had  inured 
us  to  hardship,  and  we  travelled  in  comparative  ease  and 
comfort,  though  without  encountering  any  objects  of 


CHAP.  II.  ODESSA.  23 

interest.  During  a  change  of  horses  at  a  small  town  on 
the  Saturday  we  went  into  a  Jewish  synagogue,  and  were 
received  with  great  civility.  The  congregation  was  nu- 
merous, the  room  crowded  beyond  endurance,  the  odour 
intolerable,  and  the  confusion  great ;  the  flock,  both  men 
and  women,  being  intently  engaged  in  the  perusal  of 
the  Bible,  which  each  person  read  aloud,  perhaps  each  a 
different  chapter.  The  heads  of  the  men  were  covered, 
though,  no  doubt,  their  feet  were  bare. 

At  Odessa,  where  we  arrived  at  the  end  of  September, 
we  had  our  first  specimen  of  a  Russian  hotel,  of  which  the 
less  said  the  better,  unless  to  exclaim  with  Dante,  "  Guarda 
e  passa."  We  however  forgave  a  great  deal  of  what  was 
defective,  disagreeable,  and  indecorous,  on  finding  that 
our  landlord  spoke  Turkish,  with  which  my  husband  was 
well  acquainted.  This  fortunate  circumstance  released  us 
at  once  from  the  thraldom  of  the  Feldt  Yager,  from  which 
we  had  suffered  much  vexation.  Odessa  being  a  modern 
city,  it  contains  few  edifices  of  historic  or  traditional  note. 
Like  other  Russian  towns  of  recent  construction,  the  streets 
are  wide  and  regular.  The  large  number  of  new  and  ex- 
cellent houses  in  preparation  showed  evident  signs  of 
wealth  and  increasing  commerce.  We  had  the  pleasure 
of  forming  here  the  acquaintance  of  Prince  Woronzow; 
the  Lieutenant  of  the  Emperor,  with  nearly  absolute 
authority  over  the  immense  tract  reaching  from  the 
Pruth  to  the  Caspian.  He  is  a  man  of  great  wealth, 
and  has  ever  preserved  a  reputation  for  the  highest 
honour.  In  appearance  and  manners,  he  altogether 
resembles  an  Englishman  of  the  highest  class,  and  the 
illusion  is  completed  by  the  perfection  with  which  his 


24  PRINCE  WOROXZOW.  CHAP.  II. 

Highness  (for  to  that  elevated  title  has  he  attained)  speaks 
the  English  language.  He  invited  us  to  pass  a  day  at 
his  beautiful  palace  at  Aloupka,  in  the  Crimea,  whither 
he  was  to  proceed  that  day,  while  we  were  to  follow  in  a 
Russian  war  steamer,  to  sail  the  ensuing  morning  with 
passengers  to  Sebastopol,  Kertch,  &c.  We  passed  the 
day  in  strolling  through  the  town  and  in  looking  at  the 
well-supplied  shops,  and  closed  our  ramble  by  lounging 
in  the  pretty  promenade  overhanging  the  sea,  of  which  it 
commands  a  fine  view,  as  well  as  of  the  picturesque  rock 
on  which  the  castle  is  built. 


CHAP.  III.  STEAMBOAT  PASSENGERS.  25 


CHAPTER  III. 

Russian  steamboat  —  Our  fellow-passengers  —  Russian  resources  for 
passing  the  time  —  '  Mes  Me'moires '  —  Sebastopol  —  Balaclava" — 
Crimean  scenery  —  Yalta  —  Aloupka  —  Wine-making  in  the  Crimea 

—  Russian  ladies  in  distress  —  Tartar  bandit  —  Jews  in  the  Crimea 

—  Simpheropol  —  Kaffa  —  Kertch  —  Museum  —  Passage  to  Tainan. 

NEXT  morning  we  embarked  in  the  steamer,  which 
proved  to  be  an  excellent  boat,  having  been,  we  were  told, 
built  in  England.  Her  captain  was  scarcely  entitled  to 
command  her,  as  will  presently  be  seen.  The  company 
in  the  saloon  was  numerous,  consisting  of  princes  and 
princesses,  counts  and  countesses,  colonels,  and  captains, 
and  fiddlers,  and  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  every  degree, 
and  of  manners  as  various  as  their  positions.  I  was  little 
prepared  for  the  familiarity  and  good  fellowship  which, 
without  loss  of  time,  were  established  among  all  parties. 
It  seems  strange  that  in  Russia,  where  there  may  be  said 
to  be  only  two  classes,  the  noble  and  the  non-noble,  the 
process  of  amalgamation  should  be  so  much  more  rapid 
and  easy  than  in  England ;  perhaps  the  reason  may  be 
found  in  the  immense  difference  which  is  recognised  be- 
tween the  two  classes,  and  which  enables  the  Russian 
noble  to  condescend  to  familiarity  without  risk,  just  as  we 
see  in  England  a  man  of  rank  vouchsafes  to  be  jocular 
with  a  peasant,  while  he  shrinks  from  any  approach  to 
familiarity  with  a  man  higher  in  the  scale.  Whatever  be 

c 


26  RUSSIAN  BEAUTY.  CHAP.  III. 

the  cause,  the  fact  was  fully  exemplified  on  this  occasion, 
and  no  one  could  complain  that  reserve  was  among  the 
demerits  of  our  lady  passengers.  The  weather  was  beauti- 
ful, permitting  a  large  consumption  of  time  in  eating  and 
drinking  of  very  good  fare  in  both  kinds,  diversified  with 
cards  and  scandal.  When  these  pastimes  palled,  these 
frolicsome  princes  and  princesses  determined  on  edifying 

each  other  by  relating  their  memoirs.     Prince  ,  a 

remarkably  tall,  stout  representative  of  the  interminable 

family  of  the  (every  second   prince   one  meets  in 

Russia  being  of  this  genuine  Sclavonian  stock),  took  the 
lead,  and  gravely  produced  to  an  admiring  circle  of  his 
countrywomen,  a  large  manuscript  entitled  f  Mes  Me- 
moires.'  It  was  curious  to  observe  that  even  in  convers- 
ing among  themselves,  French  was  the  only  language 
spoken  by  these  Russian  ladies  and  gentlemen.  Many 
among  the  former  were  handsome.  Beauty  in  Russia  seems 
a  good  deal  dependent  on  race.  Those  sprung  from  purely 
Sclavonic  blood,  or  from  the  descendants  of  Rurik's  com- 
panions, differ  little  in  regularity  of  feature  and  expres- 
sion of  countenance  from  the  handsomest  races  of  Europe. 
But  the  least  tinge  of  the  Tartar  taint  is  as  difficult  to 
efface  as  that  of  Africa ;  the  little  elongated  eye,  the 
spreading  nostril,  the  thick  lip,  and  the  unhealthy  jaun- 
diced hue,  are  sure  to  be  revealed  more  or  less. 

Among  the  ladies  was  the  Countess ,  a  particu- 
larly handsome  woman,  strikingly  graceful  and  attractive. 
She  lived  at  the  same  inn  that  we  occupied  in  Odessa, 
and  wrote  a  most  pressing  note  to  my  husband,  ex- 
pressing her  strong  desire  to  call  on  him  relative  to  some 
important  business.  He,  thinking  it  would  be  more  polite 


CHAP.  III.  A  RUSSIAN  COUNTESS.  27 

to  take  the  initiative,  went  to  her  apartment,  where  he 
was  rather  surprised  to  find  that  this  important  business 
consisted  of  some  absurd  claim,  which  her  deceased 
husband  possessed  some  thirty  years  ago  to  the  Persian 
order  of  the  Lion  and  Sun,  and  which  claim  she  desired 
to  make  good,  as  she  heard  the  decoration  bestowed 
was  sometimes  of  value.  It  was  only  after  a  long 
delay  he  succeeded  in  evading  her  importunity.  Prince 
Woronzow  was  also  threatened  by  this  lady  with  a 
visit,  and  he  immediately  went  to  her  apartment,  as 
there  at  all  events  he  had  a  fair  chance  of  making  his 
escape.  It  appeared  she  was  in  the  habit  of  travelling  in 
company  with  a  Russian  fiddler.  On  board,  the  Countess 
became,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  her  countrywomen, 
very  familiar  with  the  facetious  Prince  who  had  amused 
the  company  with  the  recital  of  his  adventures.  She 
came  up  to  my  husband  full  of  smiles  and  graces,  and 
told  him  she  had  been  most  fortunate  in  undertaking  the 
voyage  at  this  juncture,  as  she  had  the  happiness  of 
meeting  with  two  cousins  on  board,  one  being  the  Prince, 
and  the  other  "  ce  Monsieur,"  said  she,  introducing  the 
fiddler — "  il  est  artiste."  We  afterwards  met  him  at 
dinner  at  Aloupka,  but  without  the  Countess.  It  would 
be  very  rash  to  infer  from  this  debonair  lady's  free  and 
easy  manners,  that  she  was  to  be  considered  as  a  fair 
specimen  of  the  Russian  ladies. 

Having  touched  at  Eupatoria,  we  did  not  reach  Sebas- 
topol  until  next  day.  In  the  morning  a  heavy  fog  severely 
tried  the  nautical  skill  of  our  commander,  which  how- 
ever was  insufficient  to  prevent  our  vessel  from  running  on 

c  2 


28  SEBASTOPOL.  CHAP.  III. 

shore,  close  to  where  the  battle  of  the  Alma  must  have 
been  fought,  but  owing  to  the  smoothness  of  the  sea  we 
escaped  unscathed.  Even  then  we  could  not  look  on  the 
fortifications  of  the  harbour  of  Sebastopol,  with  their  long 
array  of  guns,  without  interest,  or  without  speculating 
who  would  be  the  first  enemy  they  would  be  called  on  to 
repel.  The  two  hours  we  spent  in  this  memorable  for- 
tress were  devoted  to  rambling  through  the  clean  and 
well-built  streets,  under  the  guidance  of  a  Russian  naval 
officer,  whom  we  accidentally  met,  and  who  kindly  obtained 
permission  from  the  governor,  or  the  admiral,  to  be  our 
cicerone  in  seeing  what  was  deemed  curious,  and  per- 
haps in  not  letting  us  see  more  than  was  necessary. 
He  conducted  us  from  one  large  building  to  another,  and 
from  one  immense  ship  to  another — among  them,  the 
pride  of  the  Russian  navy,  the  "  Twelve  Apostles."  I 
derived  no  pleasure  from  the  excursion ;  indeed  I  felt 
heartily  tired,  though  now  I  congratulate  myself  on  the 
fortunate  chance  which  led  me  to  a  place  of  imperishable 
remembrance  in  the  world's  records. 

It  was  night  when  we  sailed  round  Cape  Chersonese, 
the  southern  point  of  the  Crimea,  and  thus  we  lost  the 
sight  of  the  beautiful  landscapes  on  the  south  coast,  though 
we  were  so  close  to  the  shore  as  to  be  able  to  see  the 
entrance  to  the  ever-memorable  Balaclava.  It  blew  hard 
during  the  night,  raising  the  sea  as  well  as  exciting  great 
commotion  amidst  our  lively  princes  and  princesses. 
Among  the  first  to  suffer  was  our  commander.  That 
bold  man  of  war,  who  fondly  believed  himself  to  bear 
some  likeness  to  an  English  naval  officer,  after  struggling 


CHAP.  III.  CRIMEAN  SCEXERY.  29 

for  a  time,  lay  helpless  and  prostrate,  but  sought  comfort 
and  encouragement  in  the  remembrance  that  mighty 
Nelson  himself  to  the  last  was  liable  to  the  same  mishap. 
A  brilliant  morning  saw  us  at  anchor  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  little  town  of  Yalta,  with  all  the  lovely  scenery 
of  the  southern  Crimea  in  full  view.  Hills  covered 
with  verdure  down  to  the  sea,  woods,  interminable  vine- 
yards, hamlets,  and  villas,  formed  a  scene  not  easily 
forgotten,  and  brought  to  mind  the  garden  of  the  world, 
— Italy,  and  all  its  beauties. 

Well  might  that  excellent  traveller,  Clarke,  call  the 
southern  coast  of  this  peninsula  a  paradise,  if  all  he  says 
be  true  of  the  continual  streams  of  limpid  water  gushing 
from  the  mountain  side,  fertilising  the  gardens  with  a 
perpetual  bloom  and  cooling  the  heated  atmosphere,  the 
soil  a  hotbed  of  vegetable  productions,  no  reptiles,  no 
venomous  insects,  and,  above  all,  no  unwholesome  exhala- 
tions, of  which,  in  another  place,  he  says  the  soil  is  so 
fruitful  at  Inkerman,  Balaclava,  &c.  Would  that  our 
sick  soldiers  had  been  able  to  find  here  a  respite  from  the 
deadly  fevers  of  Sebastopol  !  change  of  air  or  season 
being  the  only  efficacious  cure  for  the  fever  of  malaria. 

An  aide-de-camp  of  Prince  Woronzow  soon  appeared 
on  board  to  convey  us  on  shore,  where  no  less  than  two 
phaetons  and  four,  if  not  six,  awaited  us,  and  soon  trans- 
ported us,  at  Russian  pace,  through  the  varied  landscapes 
bordering  the  coast,  back  to  Aloupka,  which  we  had  passed 
during  the  night. 

The  sight  of  this  gorgeous  mansion  struck  -us  witli 
surprise.  We  were  aware  of  the  magnificence  of  Russian 
nobles,  but  did  not  expect  to  behold  a  palace  which  in 


30  ALOUPKA.  CHAP.  III. 

size  and  splendour  can  vie  with  the  most  lordly  dwellings 
of  England.  It  is  constructed  in  a  style  half  Gothic,  half 
Moorish.  The  Oriental  Hal),  as  it  is  designated,  is  de- 
voted to  the  morning  reception  of  the  numerous  company 
which  is  always  assembled  during  the  residence  of  the 
"Lieutenant  of  the  Emperor,"  and  is  equally  splendid 
and  delightful,  overlooking  the  beautiful  gardens  and 
pleasure-grounds  reaching  to  the  sea,  of  which  there  is  a 
fine  prospect.  I  admired  the  exquisite  taste  with  which 
the  vases  were  filled  with  flowers  and  fruit,  and  I  was 
told  that  the  Princess  had  her  reception-rooms  and 
boudoir  decorated  every  day  by  a  painter  with  fresh  fruit 
and  flowers.  It  well  deserves  the  proud  inscription  on  the 
Imperial  Palace  at  Delhi,  which  we  afterwards  sent  from 
Tehran  in  the  most  elaborate  Persian  writing,  to  be  affixed 
over  the  entrance  of  this  apartment : — 

"  Agher  ferdows  der  rooe  Zameen  ast, 
Hameen  asto,  hameen  asto,  hameen  ast." 

"  If  on  earth  there  Eden  be, 
It  is  this,  it  is  this,  it  is  this." 

Our  princely  entertainer,  princely  in  every  sense  of  the 
word,  and  Princess  Woronzow,  a  Polish  lady  of  the  noble 
house  of  Branitzka,  devoted  the  day  to  our  amusement  in 
showing  us  all  over  the  estate,  an  operation  of  no  small 
fatigue  from  its  extent,  and  from  its  being,  not  hill  and 
dale,  but  all  hill  and  no  dale — like  Queen  Elizabeth's 
celebrated  portrait,  all  light  and  no  shadow.  Everything 
was  in  the  highest  order  and  perfection,  thanks  to  the 
Prince's  manager  and  bailiff,  a  thoroughly  active  and  in- 
telligent Englishman,  whom  we  had  the  pleasure  of  meet- 


CHAP.  III.  CRIMEAN  WINE.  31 

ing.  His  librarian,  too,  was  an  Englishman.  It  was, 
however,  his  vineyard  and  winepresses  which  the  Prince 
exhibited  with  exultation,  as  they  are  chiefly  of  his  own 
creation.  The  Crimea  has  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  pay  this 
patriotic  nobleman.  The  vineyards  are  of  immense  ex- 
tent, producing  every  kind  of  grape,  all  introduced  by 
Prince  Woronzow.  The  varieties  of  the  vines,  collected 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  are  not  less  than  two  or  three 
hundred.  The  wine  manufactured  on  the  Prince's  estate 
is  said  to  be  exceedingly  good,  though  not  equalling  in 
flavour  its  prototypes  of  Champagne  and  Bordeaux.  The 
Crimean  Barsac,  Sauterne,  and  vin  de  Grave  have  a  high 
reputation.  The  Prince's  wine-makers  were  two  gar- 
rulous Frenchmen,  father  and  son,  from  the  banks  of  the 
Garonne.  The  elder  Frenchman  announced  that  next 
day  was  his  birthday,  and  insisted  on  receiving  a  remem- 
brance of  his  fete  from  the  Prince  ;  who  at  once  kindly 
consented,  remarking,  however,  that  this  festival  seemed 
to  occur  much  oftener  than  once  a  year.  The  greatest 
curiosity  shown  us  was  a  Tartar  village  close  to  the 
house.  The  inhabitants,  men  and  women,  came  out  to 
receive  and  salute  their  ruler,  who  addressed  them  with 
much  cordiality.  The  Prince  said  they  were  quiet,  good 
people.  They  were  very  poor,  very  dirty,  and  very  ugly. 
At  night  a  numerous  party  assembled  at  dinner ;  the 
guests  could  not  have  been  less  than  fifty — a  number 
stated  to  be  unusually  small.  The  company  was  said  to 
be  somewhat  motley,  according  to  the  common  practice 
of  Russian  noblemen,  who  are  said  to  be  regardless  of  the 
rank  of  their  guests,  further  than  giving  to  each  a  higher 
or  lower-placed  seat  at  table,  and  more  or  less  costly  fare, 


32  RUSSIAN  RESPECT  FOR  THE  ENGLISH.     CHAP.  III. 

in  proportion  to  his  social  status.  The  wines  were 
numerous  and  excellent,  all  supplied  from  the  Prince's 
own  estate  at  Aloupka. 

A  few  visitors  came  later  in  the  evening,  among  whom 
was  a  French  gentleman,  long  established  in  the  country. 
He  spoke  warmly  in  favour  of  the  Russian  peasantry, 
their  intelligence,  their  industry,  their  knowledge  of  their 
rights,  and  their  tenacity  in  maintaining  them. 

Next  morning  after  breakfast  we  bade  adieu  to  Aloupka. 
Fair  befall  its  lovely  bowers  and  radiant  halls  !  May  it 
be  safe  from  the  ravages  of  war,  and  the  presence  of  the 
spider  and  the  owl !  as  I  remember  having  read  in  my 
Persian  studies — 

"  Perdehdaree  mee  kooned  der  kasr  e  ka'isar  ankeboot, 
Nowbet  mee  zaned  boom  der  goombed  e  Afrasiab." 

' '  The  spider  weaves  his  web  in  the  halls  of  the  Caesars, 
The  owl  tolls  his  knell  in  the  dome  of  Afrasiab." 

This  being  Sunday,  we  attended  church  at  the  house  of 
Prince  Narishkin,  part  of  whose  family  belongs  to  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  who  maintains  in  his  establishment 
a  clergyman  of  that  religion.  Their  estate  adjoins  that 
of  Prince  Woronzow,  and  is  almost  equally  beautiful. 

We  passed  here  a  few  agreeable  hours  in  the  society 
of  this  family  and  their  visitors.  Russians,  of  that  class 
at  all  events,  seem  to  make  it  their  study  to  render 
themselves  attractive  to  foreigners,  and  I  am  told  they 
feel  greater  anxiety  to  leave  a  good  impression  on  Eng- 
lish than  on  other  travellers,  not,  I  conjecture,  from  any 
special  liking  towards  us,  for  that,  I  am  persuaded,  they 
do  not  entertain,  however  much  they  may  esteem  and 
confide  in  individual  character. 


CHAP.  III.  COMMERCIAL  SPIRIT.  33 

That  they  do  confide  in  our  honour  much  more  than 
in  that  of  their  own  countrymen,  I  have  a  strong  convic- 
tion. I  remember  hearing  of  a  Russian  gentleman  at 
Tehran  who  gave  a  sum  of  money  to  an  English  officer,  to 
procure  some  finery  for  his  wife,  from  India.  This  gen- 
tleman being  on  the  point  of  leaving  Tehran,  he  told  the 
officer  to  avoid  carefully  letting  his  purchases  fall  into  the 
hands  of  a  Russian,  as  he  should  then  certainly  never  see 
them.  Another  Russian,  wishing  to  send  some  specimens 
of  Persian  manufacture  to  his  brother  in  Europe,  instead 
of  forwarding  them  through  the  Russian  Minister  in 
Constantinople,  who  was  his  intimate  acquaintance,  begged 
a  member  of  the  English  Mission  to  convey  them  to  the 
English  Consul  at  the  latter  city,  for  transmission  to  their 
destination.  Yet  both  these  men,  particularly  the  first, 
were  inveterately  anti-English. 

We  saw  at  this  time  an  odd  example  of  the  commercial, 
money-making  spirit  of  the  Russian  nobility,  who,  how- 
ever, it  must  be  admitted,  are  equally  willing  to  spend  as 
to  gain.  The  person  I  allude  to  was  a  man  of  large  landed 
property,  teeming  with  serfs.  Not  satisfied  with  this  fruit- 
ful source  of  wealth,  Prince adopted  the  whim  of 

turning  sugar  manufacturer,  for  which  purpose  he  con- 
structed a  large  establishment.  Finding  the  profits  scanty, 
the  prince  abandoned  sugar-making,  and  was  busily  en- 
gaged when  we  saw  him,  in  plans  for  founding  a  manu- 
factory for  paper.  Nobody  seemed  to  think  there  was 
anything  unusual  in  these  pursuits.  The  prince's  want 
of  luck,  or  skill,  or  wisdom,  was  all  they  thought  of. 

Surfeited  with  Russian  navigation,  and  anxious  to  see 
something  more  of  the  Crimea,  we  determined  to  travel 

c  3 


34  LADIES  IN  DISTRESS.  CHAP.  III. 

by  land  through  the  interior  of  the  country  to  Kertch. 
One  of  the  advantages  of  Russian  travelling  is,  that,  go 
where  you  will,  from  north  to  south,  from  east  to  west, 
from   Warsaw  to   Kamschatka,    from   the   Samoides   to 
Persia,  post-horses  abound.      We  therefore  landed  our 
carriage,  though  with  no  small  difficulty,  Yalta  being  an 
open  roadstead.     All  the  energy  and  kindness  of  Prince 
Woronzow's  English   bailiff  were   required  to   save  the 
vehicle  from  being  deposited  at  the  bottom  of  the  Black 
Sea.     This  being  accomplished,  it  was  late  when  we  said 
adieu  to  our  hosts,  the  ladies  embracing  me,  and  pitying 
me  for  going,  as  they  said,  to  a  worse  place  than  Siberia  ; 
in  which  latter  country,  they  assured  me,  there  were  balls 
and  diversions  of  various  kinds  among  the  exiles ;  whereas 
in  Persia  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind.     We  then,  on 
the  8th  of  October,  proceeded  on  our  journey,  leaving  the 
feldt  jager  and  servants  on  board  to  recreate  themselves 
the  remainder  of  the  voyage  to  Kertch.     The  absence  of 
the  former  did  not  cause  us  the  least  inconvenience.    Our 
road  lay  along  the  coast  to  Alushta,  through  beautiful 
scenery  and   a  hilly  country.      At  this  small  town  we 
turned  to  the  north,  the  road  leading  over  the  tedious  pass 
of  Chadir-dagh,  or  Tent  Mountain,  so  called  from  a  fancied 
resemblance  to  a  tent.     It  was  long  after  nightfall  when 
we  commenced  the  ascent,  our  progress  having  been  re- 
tarded in  playing  the  good  Samaritan  to  two  Russian 
ladies  travelling  post  alone  to  Yalta,  whose  tears  and  en- 
treaties were  fruitless  in  persuading  the  obdurate  yem- 
shiks,  as  the  Russian  postilions  are  called,  to  supply  them 
with  horses.     They  appealed  to  us  piteously  for  succour, 
and  we  sent  them  on  their  way  rejoicing,  after  we  had 


CHAP.  III.  TARTAR  BAXDIT-JEWS.  35 

softened  the  hearts  of  the  yemshiks  in  the  manner  most 
efficacious  in  Russia,  as  well  as  in  other  countries. 

Chadir-dagh  proved  to  be  an  exceedingly  high  hill — 
mountain,  indeed,  I  might  call  it — but  with  a  tolerably 
good  and  perfectly  safe  road.  Though  I  forget  its  height, 
I  remember  it  to  be  the  Chimborazo  and  Dewalagiri  of 
the  Crimea.  At  the  summit,  which  we  reached  at  mid- 
night, we  resolved  to  remain  in  the  carriage  at  the  solitary 
post-house,  having  before  our  eyes  the  fear  of  a  famous 
robber,  who  for  a  long  time  had  set  the  Czar  at  defiance. 
Our  only  weapon  was  a  single  old  Russian  flint-pistol, 
kindly  offered  for  our  protection  by  a  Russian  gentleman 
whom  we  accidentally  met  at  the  inn  at  Yalta ;  but  this 
pistol  looked  more  dangerous  to  fire  than  to  face  ;  more 
awful  subjectively  than  objectively ;  and,  as  Mr.  Grattan 
said  of  the  Irish  militia,  it  seemed  formidable  only  to  its 
friends.  This  marauder  was  a  Tartar,  who  had  been  a 
soldier  and  deserted.  Prince  Woronzow  told  us  that  he 
once  singly  encountered  and  despoiled  sixteen  Jews.  He 
forced  them  to  lie  on  the  earth,  "  boca  a  tierra,"  after  the 
Spanish  fashion,  and  then  robbed  them  at  his  leisure, 
recreating  himself  at  intervals  with  oaths,  kicks,  and  cuffs. 

The  Jews  of  the  Crimea  are  called  Karaites,  though 
why  I  do  not  remember.*  They  reject,  it  is  said,  the 
Talmud  and  all  tradition,  clinging  to  the  Bible  alone. 
They  are  infinitely  superior  to  their  tribe  in  Poland, 
Russia,  and  Persia,  in  personal  appearance  ;  and  they  have 
the  reputation  of  equally  exceeding  them  in  morals  and 


*  I  have  since  heard  that,  like  Koran,  the  word  is  derived  from  an 
Arabic  term  meaning  "  to  read." 


30  SIMPHEROPOL— KAFFA.  CIIAP.  III. 

character.  The  squalor,  dirt,  rags,  and  abject  syco- 
phancy of  the  Jews  of  those  countries  are  not  found  among 
the  Karaites. 

In  the  morning  we  descended  the  mountain,  and  arrived 
in  good  time  at  Simpheropol,  and  were  conducted  to  a 
small  country  seat — small,  contrasted  with  Aloupka — be- 
longing to  Prince  Woronzow,  whose  hospitality  and  kind- 
ness never  slept  from  the  time  we  entered  his  dominions, 
as  I  may  call  them,  at  Odessa,  until  we  left  them  at  the 
Aras,  on  the  frontier  of  Persia.  We  found  everything 
prepared  for  us, — servants,  beds,  and  a  most  luxurious 
breakfast.  We  would  willingly  have  passed  a  day  at  this 
pleasant  retreat,  which,  among  other  attractions,  contained 
a  large  library  ;  but  the  fear  of  the  Caucasus  and  Kasee 
Beg  *  urged  us  on.  We  drove  through  a  pleasant,  slightly 
undulating  country,  sometimes  a  savannah,  but  at  in- 
tervals well  cultivated  and  inhabited.  In  many  places  we 
beheld  what  to  my  husband  was  a  novelty,  as  well  as  to 
me, — camels  drawing  waggons  heavily  laden,  and  plough- 
ing the  fields.  In  Arabia,  India,  Persia,  and  Turkey, 
they  are  used  only  as  beasts  of  burden ;  and  in  Mekran, 
and  among  the  Belooches,  for  riding,  on  their  distant 
marauding  expeditions.  Late  at  night  we  arrived  at 
KafFa,  or  Theodosia,  as  the  Russians  prefer  to  call  it, 
where  we  found  excellent  horses  ready  for  us,  and  there- 
fore remained  only  a  few  minutes ;  but  long  enough,  dark 
as  it  was,  to  perceive  it  was  reduced  to  humble  preten- 
sions. The  remains  of  the  palaces  constructed  by  the 
Genoese  when  they  were  lords  of  Kaffa,  suffered  destruc- 


A  high  mountain  in  the  Caucasus. 


CHAP.  III.  KERTCH.  37 

tion  at  the  hands  of  the  Tartars  and  Turks,  for  the  con- 
struction of  their  mosques  and  dwellings ;  and  these  in 
their  turn  are  reported  to  have  undergone  similar  devasta- 
tion from  the  Muscovite  conquerors  ;  so  that  between  the 
invaders  little  is  left  to  Theodosia  of  its  ancient  magni- 
ficence. What  a  contrast,  and  what  a  theme  for  reflection, 
does  its  present  state  afford,  compared  to  the  days  when 
300,000  Russians  were  collected  in  its  bazars,  and  sold 
as  slaves  to  the  merchants  of  Constantinople  ! 

Continuing  our  journey  over  an  exceedingly  bad  road, 
we  next  day  reached  Kertch,  where  we  found  an  excellent 
house  awaiting  us.  This  is  a  cheerful  town,  and  must  be 
thriving  ;  as,  besides  being  the  quarantine  station,  vessels 
whose  burden  unfits  them  for  the  shallow  navigation  of  the 
Sea  of  Azow,  await  here  the  arrival  of  their  cargoes  from 
Taganrog  and  the  Don.  Though  exceedingly  hot  in 
summer,  the  cold  in  winter  is  of  equal  intensity,  notwith- 
standing that  the  position  of  Kertch  is  eight  degrees  lower 
than  that  of  London.  Sledges  proceed  down  the  Don  to 
Taganrog,  and  even  over  part  of  the  Sea  of  Azow.  Kertch, 
it  may  be  surmised,  does  not  possess  many  objects  of  art 
or  curiosity.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  antiquity  of 
the  Cimmerian  Bosphorians,  little  remains  to  mark  their 
power  at  this  regal  seat  of  Mithridates  beyond  the  nume- 
rous sepulchral  mounds  with  which  the  neighbourhood  is 
crowded.  Time  and  violence  have  done  their  work  ;  al- 
though it  is  supposed  that  research  among  its  ruins  would 
bring  to  light  more  antiquities  than  are  to  be  found  in  any 
part  of  the  Crimea.  A  small  museum,  containing  medals, 
coins,  inscriptions,  fragments  of  marbles,  and  articles  of 
pottery,  collected  in  the  neighbourhood,  reputed  to  be 


38  TOMB  OF  MITHRIDATES.  CHAP.  III. 

remnants  of  the  Grecian  rule  once  existing  here,  and 
strongly  resembling  similar  specimens  from  Etruria,  is 
preserved  with  great  reverence.  The  governor's  wife  most 
kindly  lent  us  her  carriage  to  view  a  large  mound,  a  short 
distance  from  Kertch,  which  our  cicerone  vouched  to  be 
the  tomb  of  Mithridates,  but  which  I  believe  was  a  stretch 
of  his  imagination,  the  so-called  sepulchre  of  that  monarch 
being,  I  am  told,  much  farther  off.  The  former  must  be 
the  place  which  a  French  writer  (Dubois  Montreux),  a 
recent  author,  I  believe,  with  a  Galilean  contempt  for  all 
names  not  French,  calls  Kouloba,  and  which  Clarke  names 
Altynobo,  intended  probably  for  Altoon-oba,  meaning, 
golden  tent,  or  house,  in  Turkish.  The  doctor's  Turk- 
ish, however,  is  not  very  orthodox,  I  hear.  In  the  Crimea 
he  meets  with  a  piece  of  water  which  he  calls  "  Beys  eau," 
Bey's  water,  and  expresses  his  astonishment  that  the  words 
should  be  pronounced  exactly  as  in  French,  and  have  pre- 
cisely the  same  meaning.  The  mistake  is  curious,  and 
ought  to  put  travellers  on  their  guard  in  dealing  with  new 
languages.  The  words  are  Bey  soo  ;  the  latter  meaning 
water  in  Turkish. 

It  contained  nothing  to  excite  attention,  unless  the  asso- 
ciation of  ideas  carrying  back  the  mind  to  remote  anti- 
quity. An  excavation  at  the  foot  of  the  mound  revealed 
a  small  vaulted  chamber,  empty,  as  may  be  guessed. 
The  surrounding  country  seemed  covered  with  mounds  of 
the  same  kind.  The  Russian  coachman  drove  us  over  the 
country  in  a  heavy  vehicle,  having  a  large  hammercloth, 
with  a  recklessness  only  equalled  in  Persia.  The  chariot- 
eers of  both  countries  seem  to  consider  a  carriage  as  a 
piece  of  artillery.  Mountains,  rivers,  and  ravines  are  no 


CHAP.  III.  STRAITS  OF  TAMAN.  39 

impediment  to  them,  as  I  have  found  by  experience.  Like 
Sir  Richard  Blackmore,  we  might  say, — 

"  Nor  Alps,  nor  Apennines  could  keep  him  out, 
Nor  fortified  redoubt." 

On  the  succeeding  day  a  small  steamer  was  provided  to 
convey  us  across  the  Cimmerian  Bosphorus,  the  Straits  of 
Tainan,  a  voyage  which  occupied  two  hours.  The  weather 
was  charming ;  nevertheless  we  saw  a  Russian  war-steamer 
in  a  plight  similar  to  what  befell  ours  near  Sebastopol. 
She  was  lying  on  her  side  on  a  sand-bank.  'A.) 


40  TAMAN.  CHAP.  IV. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

Passage  to  Tainan  —  Russian  hospitals  —  Line  of  the  Kuban  — 
Russian  sentinels  perched  on  platforms  —  Cossacks  of  the  line  — 
Ekaterinodar  —  Stavropol  —  Our  Armenian  hostess  —  Novel  mode 
of  ablution  —  Giorgesk  —  Caucasian  watering-place  —  Vladikaf kaz, 
the  keep  of  the  Caucasus  —  Curious  mode  of  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity among  the  Ossets  —  Shamil  —  Across  the  Caucasus  to  Tiflis. 

TAMAN  is  a  miserable  place,  desolate,  dreary,  and  sad. 
It  consists  of  a  few  houses,  or  rather  cottages,  on  the  shore. 
The  commandant's  house  alone  possessed  the  dignity  of 
a  patch  of  garden ;  the  rest  was  steppe  or  swamp.  We 
wished  to  proceed  without  delay,  but  the  commandant's 
hospitality  would  not  admit  of  our  departure  without  par- 
taking of  his  bread  and  salt ;  and,  to  say  the  truth,  hunger, 
with  a  vision  of  being  dinnerless  until  we  reached  Tiflis, 
looming  in  the  future,  made  us  more  ready  to  comply. 
The  interval  before  dinner  was  passed  by  my  husband 
in  inspecting  the  military  hospitals  with  our  host.  Taman 
seems  to  be  used  chiefly  as  an  establishment  for  invalid 
soldiers.  Two  or  three  hundred  of  them  from  the  small 
posts  along  the  Circassian  coast  of  the  Black  Sea,  were 
now  lying  here.  My  husband  said  the  hospitals  were  in 
excellent  order.  The  sick  seemed  carefully  attended  to  ; 
the  beds  were  comfortable  ;  the  men  were  dressed  in  good 
hospital  clothing,  which,  as  well  as  their  own  persons, 
was  perfectly  clean.  Russian  was  the  only  language  known 
to  the  Tamanians  ;  nevertheless  we  could  understand,  that 


CHAP.  IV.  THE  KUBAN.  41 

the  Circassian  coast  was  considered  pestiferous,  during 
summer.  Indeed,  it  is  notorious  that  the  Russians  perish 
in  that  climate,  as  well  as  in  the  swamps  and  jungles  of 
Irneretia  and  Mingrelia,  in  numbers  which  would  seem 
incredible. 

The  fact  of  making  such  a  place  as  Taman  a  general 
hospital  for  the  garrison  of  the  coast  was  alone  proof 
sufficient  of  the  dreadful  climate  prevailing  at  the  military 
stations  on  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea.  Taman,  too, 
conceals  its  hidden  treasures  of  antiquities,  its  tumuli, 
its  fragments  of  marbles,  temples,  and  so  forth  ;  the  rem- 
nants of  a  former  age  of  Hellenic  greatness  and  enterprise. 
Now  it  is  desolate  enough ;  and  one  can  scarcely  bring 
oneself  to  credit  that  here  was  once  a  great  city. 

In  the  evening  we  renewed  our  journey.  We  now  had 
approached  dangerous  ground ;  it  was  only  in  the  island 
of  Taman  we  could  venture  to  travel  by  night.  Not- 
withstanding the  assurances  of  Prince  Woronzow  of 
perfect  safety,  I  could  not  approach  the  haunts  of  the 
Circassians  without  anxiety.  Their  feats  of  daring  in 
their  predatory  incursions  were  well  known ;  and  it  was 
besides  obvious  to  the  eye  in  how  much  awe  they  were 
held  by  the  Russians.  Our  road  was  along  the  line  of 
the  Kuban,  the  river  separating  Russia  from  Circassia  ; 
for  though  the  Emperor  includes  the  latter  country 
among  "all  the  Russias,"  the  frontier  is  as  distinctly 
traced  as  that  of  Persia  or  China.  We  never  ventured 
to  move  without  a  considerable  escort  .of  those  showy 
horsemen  the  line  Cossacks.  It  is  marvellous  how  little 
change  has  taken  place  in  this  country  during  fifty  years. 
Our  journey  under  the  Caucasus  was  only  a  repetition 


42  COSSACKS.  CHAP.  IV. 

of  that  described  by  Clarke  in  his  interesting  travels  ;  the 
same  morasses  and  jungles,  the  same  clouds  of  mos- 
quitos,  or  rather  midges,  which  could  not  be  excluded 
from  a  closed  carriage  ;  the  same  desolation,  the  same 
posts  of  Cossacks  at  short  intervals.  It  was  curious  to 
see  the  sentinel  perched  at  the  summit  of  a  triangle, 
thirty  or  forty  feet  high,  with  a  small  platform  at  the  top, 
gazing  intently  at  the  Kuban,  and  over  the  extensive 
plains  of  grass,  swamp,  and  jungle  beyond  that  river, 
towards  Circassia ;  surmounted  by  a  beacon  to  be  fired 
the  moment  an  enemy  was  distinguishable.  So  absorbed 
were  the  watchers,  that  when  we  passed  under  their 
strange  roosting-place  they  hardly  deigned  to  look  at  us, 
although  for  them  we  must  have  been  a  novel  spectacle. 
This  vigilance  impressed  me  with  a  very  uncomfortable 
sense  of  danger ;  or  was  it  a  mere  display  of  rigid  dis- 
cipline these  Cossacks  were  enacting  ?  In  reading  Clarke's 
narrative  of  the  scene  fifty  years  ago,  I  fancy  him  to  have 
been  our  companion  on  our  journey  in  1849. 

Let  the  traveller  on  the  Kuban  bid  adieu  to  the  com- 
forts, and  sometimes  to  the  necessaries,  of  life.  I  scarcely 
quitted  the  carriage  until  we  reached  Stavropol,  the 
capital  of  the  Russian  districts  north  of  the  Caucasus. 
A  few  Cossack  villages  might  be  seen  here  and  there, 
with  some  appearance  of  cultivation ;  but  at  the  military 
posts  and  post-houses  the  accommodation  and  fare  were 
of  the  humblest,  or,  more  truly,  the  meanest,  description. 
On  one  occasion,  arriving  late  at  a  station  after  a  long 
and  hard  day's  work,  we  found  absolutely  nothing  to  eat, 
not  even  bread,  or  the  hitherto  unfailing  samawar,  or 
kettle-urn,  for  preparing  tea,  which  is  found  throughout 


CHAP.  IV.J  COSSACKS  OF  THE  LINE.  43 

Russia ;  so  we  went  dinnerless  and  supperless  to  bed, 
not  having  anticipated  or  provided  for  this  dearth  and 
famine. 

Our  guards,  as  I  before  said,  were  composed  of  Cos- 
sacks of  the  line,  meaning  those  guarding  and  stationed 
on  the  line  of  the  Kuban.  They  are,  I  have  heard  it 
conjectured,  formed  from  miscellaneous  races:  Turkish 
tribes  settled  in  these  tracts,  refugees  from  Circassia 
in  a  large  proportion,  and  colonists  from  the  Tcher- 
nomorski,  or  Black  Sea  Cossacks,  who  inhabit  the 
country  northwards  towards  the  Don,  where  begins  the 
territory  of  the  Don  Cossacks.  They  hold  a  high  repu- 
tation in  Russia  for  the  military  qualities  created  by  a 
life  of  unceasing  peril,  and  for  their  constant  and  suc- 
cessful struggles  with  their  mountain  foes.  My  husband 
was  in  admiration  of  their  appearance,  thoroughly  rough 
and  ready,  "  rugged  and  dangerous."  They  are  alto- 
gether irregular  troops,  each  man  fighting  on  his  own 
account.  They  seem  to  dress  as  they  best  can,  though 
they  affect  as  much  as  possible  the  appearance  of  Cir- 
cassians in  attire,  arms,  and  mode  of  fighting,  so  much  so 
as  not  to  be  easily  distinguishable  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  mountaineers.  A  "  pulk  "  of  line  Cossacks, 
with  their  weather-beaten  visages,  their  thick  beards, 
their  Circassian  caps  of  black  sheepskin,  resembling  a 
broad  low  turban,  witli  a  loose  crown  of  yellow  or  red 
cloth  ;  their  motley  coarse  frock-coats  with  six  receptacles 
for  ball-cartridges  on  each  breast,  like  the  Circassians ; 
their  yaponchas,  a  short  cloak  of  goatskin  with  long  hair, 
moveable  round  the  neck  to  face  the  wind  and  rain  from 
any  quarter,  present  a  striking  spectacle.  These  line 


44  COSSACKS  AND  CIRCASSIANS.  CHAP.  IV. 

Cossacks  are  described  to  be  the  only  Cossacks  who  will 
fight  the  Circassians  on  equal  terms,  or  of  whom  the 
Circassians  have  the  least  apprehension.  I  was  told  it 
was  a  point  of  honour  among  the  Circassians  and  these 
rough  soldiers  that,  if  two  parties  or  two  single  horsemen 
met,  and  were  in  doubt  if  they  were  friends  or  foes,  a 
horseman  from  one  side  would  dash  out  and  gallop  in  a 
circle  to  the  right,  if  a  Circassian  ;  on  which  a  horseman 
from  the  other  party  would  immediately  imitate  this 
evolution,  but  galloping  to  the  left,  if  a  Cossack,  to  show 
he  was  a  foe.  An  eternal  war  is  waged  between  the  line 
Cossacks  and  the  Circassians  who  inhabit  the  swampy 
grassy  plains  between  the  Kuban  and  the  mountains,  so 
favourable  for  ambush  and  surprise.  Dr.  Clarke  seems 
to  think  that  the  Tchernomorski  Cossacks  are  derived 
chiefly  from  Circassian  descent,  which  would  account  for 
their  martial  qualities  and  superiority  over  the  Don 
Cossacks ;  yet  how  is  this  descent  to  be  reconciled  with 
the  same  author's  statement  of  the  Tchernomorski  being 
colonists  from  the  Dnieper  little  more  than  half  a  century 
ago  ?  He  is  enthusiastic  in  favour  of  all  Cossacks,  Don 
and  Tchernomorski ;  still  I  must  avow  that  the  specimens 
of  the  Don  to  be  seen  in  Tehran,  attached  to  the  Rus- 
sian mission,  are  far  from  exciting  an  impression  in 
their  favour.  Instead  of  the  bold  troopers  of  the  Kuban, 
they  have  been  metamorphosed  into  nondescript  soldiers, 
in  a  frightful  uniform. 

We  plodded  our  way  through  swamp  and  steppe,  with 
the  Kuban  on  our  right  hand,  without  adventure  or 
variety,  until  we  began  to  approach  Ekaterinodar ;  and 
then  at  length  the  long-wished-for  peaks  of  the  Caucasus 


CIIAP.  IV.  EKATERIXODAR.  45 

began  to  show  their  solitary  grandeur,  every  hour  in- 
creasing in  magnificence.  The  right  bank  of  the  river 
being  considerably  more  elevated  than  the  land  on  the 
opposite  side,  we  had,  during  our  progress,  a  clear  view 
of  the  level  country  to  the  base  of  the  mountains,  with  an 
occasional  sight  of  the  rapid  Kuban,  and  now  and  then  a 
Circassian  village  afar  off.  Ekaterinodar  is  the  principal 
settlement  of  the  Tchernomorski  Cossacks,  and  is  little 
more  than  a  large  military  station,  constructed  after  the 
fashion  of  that  martial  race.  It  is  a  collection  of  cot- 
tages, with  a  few  better  houses  interspersed,  belonging 
to  the  commandant,  his  staff,  and  the  officers  of  the 
Cossacks. 

The  kindness  of  Prince  Woronzow  still  pursued,  or 
rather  met  us.  At  Ekaterinodar  we  were  received  by 

Count  M ,  aide-de-camp  of  the  general-in-chief  of 

Cossacks,  who  had  been  despatched  from  Stavropol  to 
meet  us.  We  are  under  great  obligations  to  this  young 
officer,  who  accompanied  us  the  rest  of  our  journey  to 
the  Persian  frontier.  Ever  active,  and  on  the  watch  to 
oblige  us  and  facilitate  our  journey,  under  his  charge 
we  made  rapid  progress.  His  equipage  consisted  of 
the  springless,  roofless  pavoska;  but  in  Russia  officers, 
soldiers,  and  horses,  lead  a  rough  life.  The  pavoska  is 
the  vehicle  of  all  ranks  of  the  army.  Prince  Simon 
Woronzow,  the  son  of  the  Emperor's  Lieutenant,  and  a 
major-general,  used  often  to  mount^the  pavoska  and 
travel  day  and  night. 

Our  road  to  Stavropol  was  generally  level.  This 
remark  is  applicable  to  the  entire  tract  in  this  part  of 
Russia,  it  being  only  at  the  very  foot  of  the  Caucasus 


46  STAVROPOL.  CHAP.  IV. 

that  any  considerable  difference  of  elevation  is  percep- 
tible. On  the  left  hand  was  the  interminable  flat  steppe, 
extending  far  to  the  east,  north,  and  west ;  and  on  the 
right  were  the  grassy  plains  of  Kabarda,  or  Circassia 
cis-Caucasus,  the  country  of  the  race  named  in  their  own 
language  Adigh,  the  word  Cherkess,  the  original  of  Cir- 
cassia, being,  it  seems,  either  Turkish  or  Persian.  The 
inhabitants  of  these  plains  are,  from  their  accessibility, 
more  or  less  subject  to  Russia ;  but  this  vassalage  does 
not,  as  we  have  seen,  dispense  with  the  most  watchful 
circumspection,  nor  prevent  the  wild  denizens  from  carry- 
ing their  forays  across  the  Kuban.  At  this  part  of  the 
journey  we  lost  the  opportunity,  never  to  be  retrieved,  of 
seeing  a  Circassian  family.  Knowing  my  curiosity  on 

the   subject,    Count   M had   ordered   a   family  of 

hostages  from  a  friendly  tribe,  to  be  prepared  at  day- 
light to  receive  company ;  the  men  arrayed  for  battle,  the 
women  and  children  in  their  gayest  national  costume. 
At  daybreak  we  proceeded,  as  we  thought,  to  their  house, 
some  distance  off,  but  after  an  hour  we  found  we  were  far 
on  the  high  road  to  Stavropol,  our  French  servant  having 
judged  fit  to  think  and  to  say  we  were  wholly  indifferent 
to  everything  sublunary  excepting  breakfast. 

Stavropol  is  the  chief  town  of  the  Russian  Caucasian 
districts,  north  of  the  mountains.  Like  all  Russian  towns 
in  this  part  of  the  world,  the  streets  are  wide,  the  houses 
low  and  painted  white.  There  was  a  theatre  and  an 
assembly-room,  where,  I  was  told,  they  had  balls  during 
winter. 

We  arrived  at  near  midnight,  and  were  lodged  in  the 
house  of  an  Armenian  merchant.  At  the  door,  to  our 


CHAP.  IV.  SOLEMN  RECEPTION.  47 

consternation,  there  appeared  something  very  like  an 
illumination  to  celebrate  our  arrival,  while  several  civil 
authorities,  in  full  dress,  presented  themselves  to  offer 
their  congratulations.  Next  followed  an  officer  in  uni- 
form, who,  with  great  solemnity  of  demeanour  and  the 
attitude  of  the  parade,  drew  forth  a  paper,  from  which  he 
read  aloud  in  Russian.  This  proved  to  be  a  report  or 
"  present  state  "  of  the  garrison  of  Stavropol,  which  this 
gentleman  lost  no  time  in  notifying.  After  apprising  us 
of  the  number  of  the  sick,  absent,  and  the  forthcoming, 
they  all  gravely  retired,  and  left  us  to  a  needful  and  ex- 
cellent supper,  and  to  repose.  This  complimentary  form 
of  the  military  report  seems  to  be  an  ordinary  usage. 
We  experienced  a  repetition  of  the  same  ceremony  several 
times  afterwards.  We  were,  as  I  said  before,  billeted  in 
the  house  of  a  wealthy  merchant,  whose  wife  next  morning 
came  to  pay  me  a  visit,  with  seven  fine  children,  of  whom 
she  seemed  very  proud.  She  was  gorgeously  attired  in  a 
light-coloured  satin  dress,  with  a  profusion  of  diamonds, 
pearls,  and  jewellery.  Russian  and  Armenian  being  the 
only  languages  in  which  she  could  communicate,  our 
conversation  was  limited,  but  she  made  up  in  civility  and 
smiling  good-humour  for  our  inability  to  converse.  A 
short  time  after  the  visit  was  over,  I  found  her,  in  her  ordi- 
nary plain  dress,  washing  her  hands  and  face  in  a  sauce- 
pan. This  saucepan,  and  a  small  silver  jug  in  my  room,  of 
the  size  of  a  cream-ewer,  appeared  to  be  the  only  vessels 
in  the  house  appropriated  to  ablution.  But,  primitive 
as  was  the  former  culinary  utensil,  my  husband  met  an 
instance  where  it  was  exceeded  in  simplicity.  Many 
years  previously  he  had  been  travelling  in  the  Caucasus. 


48  A  YOUNG  MOTHER.  CHAP.  IV. 

Having  stopped  one  night  at  a  post-house,  in  the  morning, 
on  awaking,  he  found  a  Russian  officer  dressing — if 
dressing  it  could  be  called,  he  having  slept  in  his  clothes, 
boots  and  all.  Among  other  feats  of  legerdemain,  or  de 
bouche,  he  filled  his  mouth  with  water,  where,  as  it  was 
cold,  he  retained  it  some  time,  and,  after  being  suffi- 
ciently heated,  he  ejected  it  gradually  on  his  hands, 
scouring  his  face  at  the  same  time.  With  all  these  pecu- 
liarities, it  may  be  doubted  if  the  Russians  in  general  are 
not  at  least  as  attentive  to  their  persons  as  the  English. 
The  hot  bath  is  the  constant  resource  of  the  poorest 
peasant. 

We  dined  next  day  with  the  Governor,  at  whose 
house  we  met  an  agreeable  party.  Seated  near  me  was 
a  pretty  little  girl  of  apparently  twelve  or  fourteen,  who, 
to  my  astonishment,  turned  out  to  be  the  wife  of  our 

friend  Count  M ,  and  the  mother  of  his  son  and 

heir.  No  one  at  table  seemed  to  think  her  youth  extra- 
ordinary, early  marriages  being,  it  appeared,  as  frequent 
in  Russia  as  in  America. 

We  had  left  the  Kuban  before  reaching  Stavropol, 
from  which  time  the  security  of  the  roads  seemed  to  in- 
crease. Our  escort,  after  leaving  Stavropol,  not  only 
dwindled  to  two  or  three  horsemen,  but  we  even  ventured 
occasionally  to  travel  without  protection.  The  truth  was, 
we  had  left  the  Circassians  behind,  and  had  approached 
the  lands  of  the  Tchetchens, — a  tribe  not  less  warlike, 
but  whose  country  was  free  from  the  swamps  and  fast- 
nesses of  Kabarda,  and  consequently  more  under  the 
control  of  the  Russians.  A  few  years  ago,  no  traveller 
was  allowed  to  proceed  without  an  escort,  so  dangerous 


CII.VP.  IV.  CAUCASIAN  WATERING-PLACE.  49 

was  the  passage,  while  the  post  was  accompanied  by  two 
pieces  of  artillery  and  a  company  of  infantry.  Even  to 
this  day  it  is  not  safe  to  dispense  with  all  precaution. 

The  next  town  we  arrived  at  was  Giorgesk,  a  place  of 
no  importance,  unless  it  be  as  a  military  post  connecting 
Stavropol  with  Vladikafkaz,  the  key  of  the  Caucasus.  To 
the  right  lay  the  famous  watering-place  called  Besh- 
Dagh  in  Turkish,  and  Piategorsk  in  Russian,  meaning 
in  both  languages  Five  Mountains.  This  is  the  Baden- 
Baden  of  Russia,  where  the  Muscovite  loungers  or  in- 
valids come  from  distant  quarters,  so  far  even  as  Moscow, 
to  recruit  their  purses  at  the  gaming-table,  or  their 
health  at  the  numerous  springs,  which  are  said  to  possess 
medicinal  virtues  of  every  variety  in  no  ordinary  perfec- 
tion. Piategorsk,  several  years  ago,  suffered  the  inflic- 
tion of  a  foray,  and  was  surprised  by  the  mountaineers  ; 
nearly  every  one,  it  is  said,  having  been  destroyed, 
including  a  colony  of  German  missionaries,  with  their 
families. 

At  length,  still  following  the  steppe,  we  reached  Vladi- 
kafkaz. The  solemn  snow-clad  range  of  the  Caucasus 
had  long  before  displayed  itself  to  our  sight  in  all  its 
glory  and  grandeur.  Towering  far  above  all  was  the 
monarch  mountain  of  the  range,  Elboorz,  situated  in  the 
heart  of  the  independent  tribes,  and  said  to  be  at  least 
16,000  feet  high  ;*  its  summit  has,  it  is  supposed,  never 
yet  been  reached.  It  is  strange  that  in  Persia  the  same 
name  of  Elboorz  should  be  preserved  for  the  range  of 


*  18,493  feet.     See  Mrs.  Somerville's  Physical  Geography.     On  the 
authority  of  Fuss. 


D 


50  VLADIKAFKAZ.  CHAP.  IV. 

mountains  a  few  miles  to  the  north  of  Tehran,  which  is 
continued  to  Khorassan,  and  even  farther,  until  at  length 
it  reaches  the  Hindoo  Koosh,  and,  finally,  the  Himalaya. 
Vladikafkaz  is  an  important  post,  close  to  the  Caucasus, 
of  which  it  commands  the  entrance  by  the  famous  pass  of 
Dariel.  From  Stavropol  to  this  fortress  the  same  system 
of  fortified  posts  was  maintained  that  we  had  seen  on  the 
other  side  of  that  city,  though  in  fewer  numbers,  but  at 
Vladikafkaz,  even  to  my  unpractised  eye,  it  was  evident 
that  much  greater  care  and  expense  had  been  bestowed 
in  strengthening  the  key  of  the  central  Caucasus,  and  of 
the  Russian  communications  with  Tiflis  and  the  Georgian 
provinces.  It  deserves  all  their  solicitude,  as,  with  the 
exception  of  the  road  by  Derbend,  on  the  Caspian  Sea, 
Redout  Kala  and  the  Black  Sea  being  no  longer  Rus- 
sian, this  is  the  only  line  for  the  transmission  of  troops, 
munitions  of  war,  or  merchandize,  to  the  trans-Caucasian 
districts.  There  are,  it  is  reported,  other  paths  inter- 
secting the  mountains,  but  being  through  the  midst  of 
hostile  tribes,  and  moreover  only  available  for  foot  tra- 
vellers, or  at  most  horsemen,  the  importance  of  the  main 
route  has  never  been  overlooked.  The  entire  road  to 
Tiflis  is  defended  by  strong  posts  and  barracks,  which 
contribute  largely  to  preserve  the  fidelity  of  the  Ossets, 
through  whose  territory  the  road  is  carried.  This  tribe 
has  been  so  thoroughly  subdued  that  no  escort  is  required 
between  Vladikafkaz  and  Tiflis,  excepting,  strangely 
enough,  for  the  first  four  miles  on  leaving  the  former  city, 
where  the  mountains  really  commence.  The  remainder 
of  the  road  is  considered  sufficiently  guarded  by  the  pre- 
sence of  the  various  military  posts  disposed  along  its  entire 


CHAP.  IV.          CIIEISTIANITY  OF  THE  OSSETS.  51 

length.  The  Ossets  have  been  subject  to  Russia  since 
the  time  Georgia  was  annexed  to  that  empire,  more  than 
fifty  years  ago.  A  portion  of  the  tribe  is  said  to  have 
adopted  a  sort  of  nominal  Christianity ;  so  many  indeed 
have  been  proselytised,  that  to  use  the  quaint  expression 
of  a  Russian  writer  (Wagner),  the  converts  far  exceed 
the  entire  population — something  like  my  countryman, 
who,  when  his  pocket  was  picked,  declared  that  five  out 
of  four  of  his  companions  were  thieves.  It  appears  that, 
conversion  being  attended  with  certain  advantages,  the 
same  proselytes  had  been  repeatedly  registered  under 
different  appellations. 

October  19M. — We  had  been  anxious  to  leave  Vladi- 
kaf'kaz  at  once  without  stopping,  but  the  flesh-pots  of 

Egypt  were  too  alluring  to  the  appetite  of  Count  M , 

who  perfectly  well  knew  the  difference  between  a  supper 
at  a  post-station  in  the  mountains  of  Caucasus,  and  an 
elaborate  repast  at  Prince  Woronzow's  house  at  Vladi- 
kafkaz,  where  he  assured  us  everything  was  prepared  for 
our  reception.  A  few  sly  hints  thrown  in  by  the  Count 
of  the  approach  of  evening  and  of  the  risk  from  prowlers 
of  Shamil's  partizans,  put  an  end  to  speculation,  and  we 
adjourned  to  Prince  Woronzow's  house,  where,  as  usual, 
we  had  every  reason  to  be  grateful  for  his  kindness. 

Strolling  about  the  heights  near  the  town  later  in  the 
evening,  we  were  shown,  far  to  the  north-east,  the  hills 
where  Shamil  was  said  to  be  living  in  defiance  of  the  Em- 
peror of  all  the  Russias.  This  information  gave  us  some 
surprise.  Shamil  in  Persia  is  regarded  as  chief  of  the 
Lezgees,  a  tribe,  the  fiercest  among  these  mountaineers, 
who  inhabit  the  tracts  towards  the  Caspian,  at  the  eastern 

D  2 


52  SEAMIL— JACKALS.  CHAP.  IV. 

extremity  of  the  Caucasus.  Sharail  is,  however,  an  erratic 
monarch,  one  day  leading  a  foray  against  the  Russians, 
or  defending  himself  from  one  of  their  inroads,  another 
carrying  fire  and  sword  among  the  tribes  which  have 
traitorously  dared  to  form  a  truce  with  the  Muscovites. 
We  saw  during  our  walk  a  few  miserably  dressed  girls 
near  some  tents  belonging  to  the  Ossets. 

Next  morning  we  resumed  our  journey.  A  small 
escort  conducted  us  to  the  entrance  of  the  Pass  of 
Dariel,  and  there  left  us,  all  danger  having  then  ceased. 
As  my  pen  cannot  do  justice  to  the  grandeur  of  the  scenes 
our  road  led  us  through,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe 
them,  but  refer  the  curious  reader  to  Sir  R.  Ker  Porter's 
work,  in  which  the  mountain  scenery  of  the  Pass  of  Dariel 
is  most  vividly  portrayed.  After  passing  the  village 
of  Dariel,  from  which  is  derived  the  name  of  the  defile, 
we  spent  the  night  in  a  lonely  post-house,  where  for  the 
first  time  I  heard  the  howling  of  jackals.  It  is  a  melan- 
choly wild  cry,  and,  as  in  Ireland  we  are  accustomed  to 
regard  the  howling  of  a  dog  as  a  thing  of  ill  omen,  these 
yells  sounded  particularly  dismal  to  me.  Next  day 
we  passed  in  succession  Kazee  Bey,  the  formidable  Kazee 
Bey,  Kobi,  Kassanoor,  Ananoor,  Doushete.  We  found 
the  road  excellent  and  free  from  danger,  as  free  at  least 
as  a  mountain  road  can  be  made.  Sir  R.  Ker  Porter 
has  indulged  in  a  little  exaggeration  in  his  description  of 
the  horrors  and  perils  he  experienced  in  the  passage  of 
the  defile,  though  for  my  part  I  cannot  remember  any 
cause  for  excitement  or  apprehension,  unless  to  a  very 
fervid  imagination.  Even  Kazee  Bey,  said  to  be  14,000 
feet  high,  was  divested  of  any  terror.  The  carriage  was 


CIIAI-.  IV.  MIXGRELIAN  COSTUME.  53 

so  heavy  that  we  left  it  and  ascended  to  the  summit  in 
the  pavoska ;  the  descent  was  so  steep  that  we  thought  it 
more  prudent  to  walk  down.  I  can  imagine  that  under 
another  aspect,  a  wall  of  snow  impending  above  and  a 
scanty  breadth  of  road,  my  lord  judge  (Kazee  is  our  old 
acquaintance  Cadi)  would  be  very  formidable,  and  would 
give  a  severe  trial  to  the  nerves.  At  the  foot  of  this 
mountain  we  crossed,  by  a  long  narrow  bridge,  a  rapid 
turbulent  river,  which  we  were  told  was  the  Terek,  the 
second  stream  in  importance  in  the  Caucasus.  The 
southern  extremity  of  the  bridge  was  defended  by  a  small 
military  work,  which  seemed  more  insignificant  than  so 
important  a  position  deserved. 

At  Ananoor  we  had  the  good  fortune  to  make  the  ac- 
quaintance of  a  Mingrelian  lady,  who  was  married  to  a 
person  of  distinction  among  the  Ossets.  She  was  sitting 
at  the  end  of  a  room,  destitute,  with  the  exception  of 
Persian  carpets,  of  all  furniture.  She  was  dressed  in  the 
Georgian  costume,  which  is  very  becoming  to  a  young 
face,  but  makes  old  people  look  perfectly  frightful.  It 
consists  of  a  cap  made  of  coloured  silk,  embroidered  either 
with  gold  or  pearls,  made  like  a  boy's  cap,  and  placed  on 
the  top  of  the  head  ;  the  hair  hangs  down  in  tresses,  and 
over  it  is  thrown  a  light  tulle  veil ;  the  gown  opens  in 
front,  showing  a  thin  handkerchief;  and  over  the  dress  is 
a  short  pelisse,  made,  if  possible,  of  the  richest  materials. 
This  lady  must  have  been  handsome  when  young.  She 
complained  of  the  solitude  of  her  life,  as  she  had  no  chil- 
dren ;  and,  in  going  away,  begged  we  would  leave  her  our 
visiting-cards  as  a  souvenir. 

Before  quitting  the  Caucasus  I  may  as  well  transcribe 


54  THE  CIRCASSIANS.  CHAP.  IV. 

a  few  particulars  concerning  the  Circassians,  which  though 
I  fear  may  not  be  in  themselves  novel,  yet  certainly  come 
from  a  novel  source,  namely,  a  Turkish  slave-dealer,  who 
had  given  up  his  profession,  and  was  my  husband's  in- 
structor in  Turkish  several  years  ago  at  Trebizonde. 
His  name  was  Hafiz  Effendi,  and  his  residence  in  Cir- 
cassia  amounted  to  five  years.  His  reason  for  giving  up 
this  branch  of  commerce  was  the  vigilance  of  the  Russian 
cruisers,  which  made  it  too  hazardous  to  attempt  to  cross 
the  sea  with  his  living  cargo.  The  ports  he  frequented 
were  Soojook  Teghameesa  and  Shiyapsookha,  and  he  fre- 
quently penetrated  fifteen  or  twenty  hours'  distance  into 
the  interior. 

There  are  no  towns ;  the  villages  are  built  along  the 
coast,  but  are  not  very  numerous ;  the  houses  are  dis- 
persed through  the  forest,  which  is  not  thick  and  reaches 
close  to  the  sea. 

The  population  is  divided  into  the  following  classes — 
khans,  or  princes ;  meerzas,  nobles ;  usdens,  gentlemen ; 
ryots,  or  freemen;  and  kieulehs,  serfs;  besides  slaves 
obtained  in  war  or  by  purchase. 

These  classes  do  not  intermarry ;  and,  like  the  castes 
of  India,  no  man,  whatever  be  his  capacity  or  his  deeds, 
can  rise  from  one  class  to  a  higher  rank.  It  is  even  very 
rare  for  one  class  to  buy  slaves  from  another,  unless  to 
sell  them  again. 

Circassia,  or  Adeegha,  as  the  natives  style  their  country, 
is  divided  into  six  large  tribes  or  confederacies,  of  which 
the  names  are  Natchwo,  Natakhwo,  Koblee,  Sabich,  Gwo- 
ghwo,  Sotokh ;  but  Kabarda,  although  the  inhabitants 
resemble  the  Circassians  in  language,  customs,  and  man- 


CHAP.  IV.  THEIR  RELIGION.  55 

ners,  does  not  belong  to  any  of  these  tribes.  These  six 
large  tribes  are  subdivided  into  fraternities,  the  members 
of  which  hold  to  each  other  the  relations  of  brother  and 
sister,  and  therefore  cannot  intermarry. 

Serfs  are  numerous,  a  rich  man  having  often  fifty  or 
sixty  male  serfs.  Their  condition  seems  to  be  much  more 
analogous  with  serfdom  than  slavery.  In  external  ap- 
pearance there  is  no  difference  perceptible  between  them 
and  other  Circassians.  In  colour  they  are  the  same,  as 
well  as  in  courage  and  other  qualities.  Slaves  may  sit 
and  eat  in  a  mejlis,  or  society,  of  the  higher  classes,  and 
they  carry  arms. 

About  half  the  population  consists  of  Soonee  Mahom- 
medans.  In  general  they  know  very  little  of  their  religion, 
and  many  care  very  little  about  the  matter.  They  are 
equally  indifferent  to  the  religion  of  their  neighbours,  and 
usually  are  willing  to  give  their  daughters  in  marriage 
to  idolators,  who  are  numerous.  These  latter  appear  to 
believe  in  God,  but  they  worship  trees;  at  all  events, 
they  go  through  ceremonies  under  trees. 

There  are  some  Christians  of  Greek  or  Armenian  de- 
scent, but  they  are  almost  wholly  Circassianised :  their 
language,  dress,  customs,  are  Circassian.  They  can 
obtain  wives  from  the  idolators ;  but  the  Mahommedans 
would  rather  give  their  daughters  to  the  latter,  as  being 
real  Adeeghas,  than  to  these  Christians,  who  are  found 
chiefly  in  the  interior. 

Eloping  with  a  young  woman,  with  her  own  consent,  is 
a  common  occurrence.  Her  father  can  make  no  com- 
plaint, as,  if  the  girl's  parents  are  not  slaves,  she  has  the 
disposal  of  herself;  but  he  can  exact  from  the  lover  the 


50  THE  CIRCASSIANS.  CHAP.  IV. 

amount  of  her  value,  and  the  "  white  beards  "  settle  what 
that  value  shall  be. 

The  Circassians  are  of  middling  stature,  and  tolerably 
stout.  Their  hair  is  of  all  colours,  but  reddish  is  the 
most  prevalent.  Blue  eyes  are  more  common  than  any 
other  colour.  They  are  not  in  general  very  fair,  though 
some  among  them  are  eminently  so ;  and  a  good  com- 
plexion is  not  at  all  uncommon. 

They  rarely  sit  cross-legged,  or  on  their  heels,  prefer- 
ring to  sit  like  Europeans,  on  cushions.  They  eat,  as 
the  Turks  do,  seated  at  a  tray  placed  on  a  stool. 

They  never  move  out  without  their  arms,  it  being 
effeminate  to  appear  unprovided  with  the  means  of  de- 
fence. Their  tempers  are  excellent ;  they  are  not  easily 
roused  to  anger,  and  they  are  quickly  pacified.  Conver- 
sation is  one  of  their  chief  amusements,  and  they  indulge 
in  it  freely. 

The  mode  in  which  the  trade  with  Turkey  is  carried  on 
is  this.  Trebizonde  is  the  principal  port  from  which  the 
merchants  proceed,  though  they  also  embark  from  Sam- 
soon  and  Sinope,  Constantinople,  and  occasionally  from 
Egypt.  The  trade  is  generally  conducted  in  partnership. 
One  person  supplies  the  capital,  and  the  profits  are 
equally  divided  between  him  and  the  person  who  under- 
takes the  labour  of  the  voyage  to  Circassia.  The  capital, 
on  an  average,  is  about  2507.  or  300/.  The  articles  taken 
to  Circassia  mostly  consist  of  silk  and  cotton  cloths,  cali- 
coes, chintzes,  cheap  shawls,  a  small  quantity  of  gun- 
powder, and  a  great  deal  of  salt ;  also  some  Turkish 
coloured  leather  for  slippers  and  bridles. 

When  the  boat  arrives  at  a  landing-place,  it  is  drawn 


CHAP.  IV.  THEIR  COMMERCE.  57 

high  up  on  the  shore  to  conceal  it  from  the  Russians. 
The  merchants  then  disembark,  and  if,  from  having  made 
previous  voyages,  they  are  already  provided  with  a  konak 
pae,  they  go  at  once  to  their  abode ;  but  if  not,  they  in- 
quire for  the  best  private  house,  to  which  they  proceed 
immediately,  and  are  always  welcome.  The  konak  pae 
is  the  host.  If  one  were  to  leave  his  house  for  another, 
it  would  be  a  mortal  offence.  It  is  his  solemn  duty  to 
protect  the  person  and  property  of  his  guests,  and  he  is 
always  ready  to  lose  his  life  in  their  defence.  As  this  is 
well  known,  a  traveller  once  hosted  is  tolerably  safe. 
After  the  merchants  have  landed,  the  people  assemble 
from  the  vicinity  to  hear  the  news,  and  to  see  the  novel- 
ties from  the  land  of  the  Ameer  ool  Moomeneen,  the 
Commander  of  the  Faithful,  whom  they  continue  to 
revere.  The  goods  are  taken  to  the  konak  pae's  house, 
and  there  the  people  come  with  their  articles  of  barter, 
consisting  of  honey,  butter,  tallow,  hides,  fox-skins,  slave- 
girls  and  boys — the  two  latter  articles  of  trade  being, 
.however,  kept  in  another  dwelling — while  the  boatmen 
purchase  grain  in  exchange  for  salt,  and  take  it  to 
Turkey.  People  come  from  fifty  hours'  distance  to  traffic. 
They  are  keen  in  dealing,  and  never  make  a  bargain 
without  abundance  of  talking.  The  profits,  after  all  ex- 
penses are  paid,  amount  generally  to  twenty-five  per 
cent. 

Those  persons  who  have  slaves  for  the  market  do  not 
bring  them  to  the  merchant's  residence.  When  the  latter 
has  seen  the  slaves,  they  retire  to  another  house,  leaving 
the  transaction  to  be  completed  by  no  less  a  person  than 
an  elchee,  or  ambassador,  or  by  a  dellal,  or  broker. 

D  3 


58  THE  CIRCASSIANS.  CHAP.  IV. 

When  a  Circassian  says  be  has  got  slaves  to  sell,  the 
Turk  inquires  if  they  are  young,  and  in  case  of  an  affir- 
mative answer,  proceeds  to  ask  how  many  spans  they  are. 
This  refers  to  height.  A  girl  is  considered  beyond  span- 
ning when  she  reaches  six  spans ;  she  is  then  technically 
said  to  be  "  qarishden  chiqdee,"  that  is,  she  has  passed 
spanning,  and  is  understood  to  be  twelve  years  old. 

Slaves  are  valued  by  the  number  of  pieces  of  silk, 
chintz,  &c.,  given  in  exchange  for  them. 

Ugly  female  slaves  are  purchased  for  Constantinople,  to 
fill  menial  or  domestic  duties.  Old  women  are  sometimes 
sold  in  Circassia.  They  are  purchased  to  act  as  nurses 
in  Constantinople.  An  old  woman  may  be  worth  two  or 
three  thousand  ghooroosh  (177.  to  257.)  in  that  city. 

If  among  the  slaves  that  have  been  bought  there  are 
any  full-grown  men,  they  are  chained  or  tied  lest  they 
should  run  away,  but  women  are  never  tied.  The 
merchants,  after  the  purchase,  supply  them  with  new 
clothes,  the  goodness  and  quality  of  which  depend  on  the 
value  of  the  slave.  The  food  given  to  them  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  merchants  themselves,  and  there  is  no  limit 
to  the  quantity. 

A  great  many  among  the  female  slaves  are  glad  to 
leave  the  country ;  and  some  young  women,  not  slaves, 
who  are  poor  and  unprotected,  especially  orphans,  often 
entreat  their  relations  to  sell  them.  Their  hope  is 
that  they  may  be  purchased  in  Constantinople  by  some 
wealthy  Turk,  at  the  head  of  whose  establishment  they  may 
be  placed.  An  orphan-girl,  at  all  events,  is  certain  of 
not  changing  for  the  worse. 

Sometimes  a  free  man  is  sold  by  force.     He  is  stolen 


CHAP.  IV.  SLAVE-TRADE.  59 

from  some  distant  place,  taken  down  to  the  coast,  and 
sold.  This  does  not  often  happen,  and  is  still  more  rare 
with  regard  to  women. 

Occasionally  there  is  a  collusive  sale.  A  man  procures 
a  friend  to  sell  him ;  he  then  takes  to  flight,  and  the 
amount  of  the  purchase  is  divided  between  them. 

Hafiz  Effendi  says  he  does  not  well  know  how  the 
supply  of  slaves  is  maintained.  The  country  is  populous, 
criminals  are  sold,  slaves  are  brought  from  distant  places  ; 
as  before  observed,  orphans  are  frequently  offered  for 
sale,  and  some  persons  are  themselves  desirous  of  change, 
and  willing  to  be  sold.  These,  he  supposes,  are  the  prin- 
cipal sources  from  which  the  supply  is  kept  up.  A  man 
cannot  sell  his  son  or  daughter  against  their  own  consent ; 
but  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon  for  a  man  to  bring  his 
daughter  into  the  market  by  her  own  desire.  The  un- 
married girls  do  nothing  whatever  excepting  needlework, 
but  the  married  women  do  all  the  drudgery. 

The  Circassian  girls  are  not,  the  Effendi  considers, 
strikingly  handsome.  They  are,  however,  exceedingly 
clever  and  intelligent,  readily  learning  Turkish,  music, 
and  dancing.  Their  intellectual  superiority  makes  them 
attractive,  and  they  soon  acquire  influence  in  a  Turkish 
family.  The  Georgian  women  are  handsome,  but  much 
inferior  in  mental  qualities,  and  their  market  value  is  in 
consequence  less. 

Prices  of  course  vary  at  Constantinople  according  to 
the  vigilance  of  Russian  cruisers,  and  the  incorruptibility 
of  Russian  agents  at  Trebizonde,  Samsoon,  and  Sinope. 
The  following  is  the  average  price  in  Circassia  :  — 


GO 


MILITARY  CONCERT. 


CHAI-.  IV. 


A  man   of    30  years  of  age,  £10 

20  ,,  10  to  £30 

15  „  30  „     70 

10  „  20  „     50 

5  „  10  „     30. 

A  woman  of  50  years  of  age,  £10  to  £30 
40  30  ,.     40 


, 

30      , 

ov  ,, 

40  „ 

*i-U 

70 

20  to  25   , 

50  „ 

100 

14  „  18   , 

50  „ 

150 

8,,  12   , 

30  „ 

80 

5   , 

20  „ 

40. 

The  foregoing  statement  is  a  very  condensed  account 
of  the  Effendi's  narrative,  which  would  have  been  still 
more  extended  had  not  his  affairs  called  him  suddenly  to 
Constantinople. 

In  passing  through  the  Caucasus,  Count  M pro- 
cured us  a  gratification  fully  as  interesting  and  agreeable 
as  the  dame  from  Mingrelia.  The  vocal  powers  of  the 
Russian  soldiery  have  a  wide  reputation,  combining  not 
only  sweetness  of  tone  but  superior  execution.  A  party 
of  thirty  or  forty  soldiers,  whom  he  had  assembled  on  the 
roadside,  near  one  of  the  military  stations  we  had  just 
past,  improvised  a  concert,  which  proved  highly  agreeable. 
It  had  really  a  surprising  effect  to  hear  these  rough  un- 
cultivated men  singing  with  the  utmost  precision  tenor, 
second  tenor,  bass,  and  all  preserving  a  perfect  correctness 
and  harmony.  It  is  said  that  on  a  march  an  entire  regi- 
ment of  Russian  soldiers  will  sometimes  relieve  their 
fatigue  by  singing  in  parts  one  of  their  national  melodies. 


CIJAP.  V.  TIFLIS.  61 


CHAPTER  V. 

Tiflis  sacked  by  the  Persians  —  Prince  Woronzow's  improvements  — 
Georgian  drinking  parties  —  Armenian  Patriarch  —  Gookcha  Lake  — 
Supper  at  Erivan  —  Etchmiatzin  —  Nakhshewan  —  Our  host  and 
hostess  —  Night  at  the  Aras  —  Crossing  the  frontier  —  Farewell  to 
Russia. 

TIFLIS  is  another  Vladikafkaz  (key)  on  the  southern  side 
of  the  Caucasus.  We  were  glad  to  arrive  at  this  capital 
of  the  Transcaucasian  provinces,  which  is  close  to  the  foot 
of  the  mountains,  and  situated  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
Kur.  Some  sixty  years  ago  it  was  sacked  by  the  Shah 
of  Persia,  Agha  Mahommed  Khan,  the  founder  of  the 
dynasty  of  Kajar,  who  carried  a  large  portion  of  the  inha- 
bitants, Georgians  and  Armenians,  into  slavery.  I  saw 
at  Tehran  a  few  of  these  unhappy  captives,  who  all  had 
been  forced  to  embrace  Mahommedanism,  and  many  of 
whom  had  risen  to  the  highest  stations  ;  just  as  the  Circas- 
sian slaves  in  Constantinople  became  pashas,  seraskiers, 
capitan-pashas,  &c.  Tiflis  has  entirely  recovered  from 
this  shock.  It  is  now  a  most  thriving,  active,  and  bustling 
city,  and  will  doubtless,  when  the  day  arrives  for  the  de- 
velopment of  free  trade  in  the  dominions  of  the  Czar, 
become  a  rich  emporium  of  commerce,  situated  as  it  is 
midway  between  the  Black  Sea  and  Caspian,  and  on  the 
high  road  between  Russia,  Persia,  and  Asia  Minor.  The 
official  part  of  the  town  is  full  of  imposing  buildings,  and 
the  native  portion  is  equally  well  stored  with  busy  shops, 


62  PRINCE  WORONZOWS  IMPROVEMENTS.     CHAP.  V. 

crowded  by  the  motley  population.  Prince  Woronzow's 
fostering  care  has  not  allowed  this  important  part  of  the 
territory  under  his  jurisdiction  to  remain  without  its 
share  of  his  patronage.  In  spite  of  the  pre-occupation 
of  a  war  not  always  successful,  with  the  mountaineers, 
he  is  said  to  have  planned  many  valuable  institutions, 
to  which  are  to  be  added  a  large  and  handsomely  built 
theatre  for  the  performance  of  operas,  not  completed 
at  the  time  of  our  visit,  besides  a  small  theatre,  for 
Russian  comedies  and  farces.  All  these  improvements 
evince  his  anxiety  to  promote  civilization  among  the 
Georgians  and  Armenians.  The  Military  Governor  of 
Tiflis  was  an  Armenian  of  Georgia,  General  Baibetoff; 
a  man  of  experience,  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  the 
campaigns  of  Turkey  and  Persia  in  former  years.  It 
sounded  strange  to  find  an  Armenian  occupying  this  high 
post,  but  Russia  is  more  cosmopolite  than  England.  A 
stranger  of  the  gate  is  readily  admitted  within  the 
temple ;  but  it  will  require  a  change  in  English  ideas 
before  we  find  a  Canadian  or  Maltese  Governor  of  India, 
or  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Is  this  facility  the  result 
of  enlightenment,  or  does  it  proceed  from  the  dearth  of 
native  talent  ? 

If  I  were  to  form  my  opinion  from  the  Georgian  ladies 
visible  in  the  street,  which,  except  one  evening  that  we 
went  to  the  theatre,  was  the  only  place  I  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  beholding  them,  I  should  be  forced  to  declare 
that  their  beauty  has  obtained  a  greater  reputation  than 
it  deserves.  They  certainly  are  fair,  with  high  com- 
plexions, natural  or  artificial,  and  regular  features,  all  of 
which  perhaps  entitle  the  owners  to  the  meed  of  beauty ; 


CHAP.  V.  THE  GEORGIANS.  63 

still  the  entire  absence  of  animation  or  expression  deprives 
the  countenance  of  attraction.  They  look  well,  however, 
in  their  pretty  dresses  while  young.  The  Armenians, 
when  out  of  doors,  wrap  themselves  up  in  white  veils,  or 
rather  cloaks,  which  have  a  graceful  effect. 

At  Tiflis  we  were  lodged,  as  usual,  at  the  house  of  an 
Armenian  merchant.  He  was  a  man  of  much  reputed 
wealth.  His  house  was  furnished  with  great  richness,  and 
at  a  cost  that  may  be  imagined  when  it  is  considered  that 
the  whole  of  the  furniture  was  brought  from  St.  Peters- 
burg. It  was  much  too  expensive  to  be  profaned  by  use, 
being  exclusively  reserved  either  for  compulsory  guests, 
like  ourselves,  or  marriage  and  other  feasts.  The  part  of 
the  habitation  occupied  by  our  host  and  his  family  was 
very  humble,  and  far  from  clean. 

Next  to  its  conquerors,  the  Georgians  are  the  master 
caste  of  this  country.  It  is  said  that  between  the  Geor- 
gians and  the  Armenians,  who  are  found  here  in  great 
numbers,  there  is  a  wonderful  contrast  in  character  and 
manners.  The  Georgian  is  bold,  turbulent,  reckless,  ex- 
travagant ;  the  Armenian  is  mean,  cringing,  timid,  always 
intent  on  gain,  and,  unlike  a  Georgian,  in  keeping  what 
he  gains.  The  same  characteristics  mark  him  in  Persia 
and  Turkey,  and  I  am  told  everywhere  else ;  for,  like  the 
gipsy,  he  is  a  wanderer  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  is  to 
be  found  in  every  part  of  Asia.  He  is  consequently  an 
abundant  and  pleasant  harvest  to  all  needy  pashas,  khans, 
hakims,  and  minor  functionaries  of  misrule,  easily  reaped, 
gathered,  and  gleaned. 

It  is  as  unsurpassable  topers,  as  well  as  for  their  military 
qualities,  which  have  always  been  acknowledged,  that  the 


6-t  GEORGIAN  DRINKING  PARTIES.  CHAP.  V. 

Georgians  have  acquired  notoriety.  At  their  frequent 
drinking  parties  it  is  said  they  will  pass  several  days  and 
nights,  almost  without  intermission,  in  quaffing  the  produc- 
tions of  the  vineyards  of  Kakheti,  a  district  in  the  moun- 
tains east  of  Tiflis.  This  wine  is  by  no  means  of  bad 
quality ;  it  is  of  a  deep  red  colour,  so  deep  that  one  fancies 
it  has  been  tinged  with  some  dye  to  produce  so  intense  a 
hue.  They  are  said  to  consume  incredible  quantities  of 
wine  on  these  occasions,  and  in  a  fashion  that  would 
put  to  shame  the  drinking  triumphs  of  Ireland,  recorded 
by  Sir  Jonah  Barrington,  in  days  of  old,  when  intoxi- 
cation was  the  standard  of  spirit.  The  drinking-vessel 
is  a  cow's  horn,  of  considerable  length,  and  the  point  of 
honour  is  to  drain  it  at  a  draught.  The  brethren  and  con- 
vivial rivals  of  the  Georgians  in  the  neighbouring  pro- 
vinces of  Imeretia  and  Mingrelia,  instead  of  a  horn,  use  a 
delicately-hollowed  globe  of  walnut  tree,  with  a  long 
narrow  tube  at  the  orifice.  It  holds  fully  a  pint,  and  like 
its  companion,  the  horn,  the  contents  are  consumed  at  a 
single  gulp.  How  these  globes  are  hollowed  is  as  great  a 
marvel  as  the  construction  of  the  ingenious  Chinese  puzzle 
of  ball  within  ball. 

During  our  short  stay  at  Tiflis  we  paid  a  visit  to  Narses, 
the  venerable  patriarch  of  the  Armenian  Church.  His 
manners  and  appearance  were  full  of  dignity  and  benevo- 
lence— an  observation  seldom  applicable  to  the  clergy  of 
the  Armenian  Church  in  Persia.  Notwithstanding  his 
extreme  age,  he  conversed  with  great  cheerfulness  and  even 
vivacity,  showing  much  interest  in  and  some  knowledge  of 
the  affairs  of  Europe.  Not  suspecting  we  were  Catholics, 
he  amused  himself  and  us  too,  he  no  doubt  thought,  by 


CHAP.  V.  THE  ARMENIAN  PATRIARCH.  G5 

sneering  at  the  Pope,  descanting  with  great  unction  on  the 
supposed  infallibility  of  His  Holiness.  Having  no  incli- 
nation to  enter  on  polemics,  and  unwilling  to  put  the 
Patriarch  out  of  countenance  by  explaining  the  real  state 
of  the  case,  we  allowed  him  to  pursue  the  pleasant  theme 
without  restraint  to  the  top  of  his  bent.  There  was  an 
appearance  of  great  simplicity  throughout  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Patriarch,  indicating,  if  not  poverty,  the 
entire  absence  of  any  approach  to  superabundant  revenue. 
For  some  unexplained  reason  he  had  been  compelled  by 
the  Russian  authorities  to  quit  his  see  at  Etchmiatzin, 
the  Rome  of  the  Armenians,  and  fix  his  residence  in 
Tiflis,  from  whence  I  have  since  heard  he  has  been  trans- 
ferred to  St.  Petersburg.  The  Patriarch  is  said  to  enjoy 
the  highest  popularity  among  his  flock,  and  it  is  added  that 
his  talents,  virtue,  and  learning,  entitle  him  to  all  their 
veneration.  If  what  we  heard  was  true  of  the  state  of 
learning  among  the  Armenian  divines  in  general,  this 
Patriarch  must  be  a  black  swan  among  the  prelacy  and 
priesthood  of  that  faith.  Still  it  would  be  unjust  to  exact 
from  them  any  great  profundity  of  learning,  sunk  as  they 
are  in  the  lethargy  and  indolence  of  Persia,  Turkey,  and 
Russia.  Their  morals  are  reported  not  to  be  constructed 
according  to  the  rules  of  a  high  or  very  rigid  code  ;  and  of 
their  theological  depth  I  remember  to  have  heard  some 
amusing  anecdotes.  The  following  is  one  among  the 
number : — A  priest  was  asked  why  Christ  suffered  on  the 
cross  ?  He  reflected  some  time,  and  replied,  "  Wallah,  I 
do  not  know  ;  doubtless  he  committed  some  crime  for  which 
he  was  punished."  Another  anecdote  is  told  of  a  priest 
in  Hamadan,  whose  daughter  was  married  to  an  Arme^ 


66  GOOKCHA  LAKE.  CHAP.  V. 

nian  who  went  to  India  on  business  which  detained  him 
some  time.  During  his  absence  the  bishop  heard  that  the 
priest  had  married  his  daughter  to  another  man.  On 
demanding  an  explanation  of  this  unapostolic  alliance,  the 
diocesan  received  an  indignant  reply  from  the  priest  that  he 
had  mistaken  his  character,  for  he  was  incapable  of  aiding 
or  abetting  the  sin  of  bigamy,  and  that  all  he  had  done 
was  to  pronounce  a  blessing  for  their  living  happily 
together  until  her  husband  should  return. 

Impatient  to  conclude  our  peregrination  and  reach  our 
destination,  we  lost  no  time  in  resuming  our  journey. 
Travelling  in  Georgia  is  neither  luxurious  nor  commo- 
dious, still  it  immensely  surpasses  all  our  experience  of 
Southern  Russia,  particularly  in  the  Mahommedan  portion 
of  the  province.  If  horses  were  scarce  at  the  post-houses, 
chickens  and  lambs,  yoghourt  and  kymak,  those  savoury 
preparations  from  milk  so  cherished  all  over  Asia,  were 
abundant.  The  invasive  hordes  of  the  post-houses,  too, 
we  heard,  were  less  numerous,  ferocious,  and  bloodthirsty, 
but  we  pressed  on  without  stop  or  stay  through  a  pretty 
country  with  groves  of  oak-trees  scattered  about,  which 
afforded  food  for  enormous  droves  of  swine,  in  whose  flesh 
the  Georgians  take  special  delight.  When  we  arrived  at 
the  high  mountains  near  the  lake  Gookcha,  we  left  our 
carriage  and  walked  up  the  pass.  On  reaching  the 
summit  of  this  high  range,  which  forms  the  limit  of 
Georgia  proper,  we  had  a  noble  prospect.  On  the  left, 
at  our  feet,  lay  the  beautiful  lake  of  Sevan,  the  first  sheet 
of  water  we  had  seen  on  this  journey ;  before  us  were 
spread  Armenia  and  the  plains  of  Erivan,  expanding  far 
to  the  south  ;  while  on  the  right,  dark,  towering,  and 


.  V.  ERIVAX.  67 

frowning,  lay  the  Karadagh,  the  Black  Mountains, 
beyond  Kars,  stretching  towards  the  Black  Sea.  At 
this  interesting  spot  the  postmaster  had  hospitably  re- 
solved not  to  confine  our  gratification  to  the  pleasure  of 
sight,  and  had  prepared  for  us  a  most  notable  breakfast ; 
at  which  we  revelled  on  strawberry  jam,  made  fresh  from 
the  fruit  on  the  mountains,  and  the  far-famed  salmon 
trout,  just  out  of  the  lake.  Long  after  dark,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  a  toilsome  journey  over  a  detestable  road,  we 
reached  Erivan.  This  was  formerly  the  frontier  town 
of  Persia,  from  which  kingdom  it  was  conquered  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  after  a  vigorous  resistance,  during  which 
the  Russians  were  more  than  once  repulsed,  and  were 
obliged  to  raise  the  siege.  The  loss  was  severe  to  Persia ; 
as,  instead  of  a  strongly  fortified  town  in  the  possession  of 
the  Shah,  a  narrow  river  now  marks  the  frontier  of  the 
two  countries.  The  strength  of  this  fortress  has  been 
increased,  it  is  said,  to  an  extent  that  would  render  its 
capture  exceedingly  difficult,  or  perhaps  impracticable, 
by  a  Turkish  or  Persian  army.  Not  satisfied  with  the 
strength  thus  added  to  the  frontier  by  the  possession  of 
this  important  post,  the  Russian  Government  has  sought 
for  farther  security  by  constructing  a  fortress,  or  entrenched 
camp,  at  a  spot  named  Gumri,  a  short  distance  to  the  north- 
west of  Erivan.  Gumri  possesses  farther  interest  to  a 
traveller  from  its  vicinity  to  some  remarkable  ruins  situ- 
ated within  the  Turkish  frontier,  named  Ani,  which  it 
seems  was  once  the  capital  of  an  Armenian  kingdom  (B.), 
for  even  the  Armenians  once  had  a  kingdom.  We  ordered 
horses  to  be  prepared  without  delay,  resolving  to  make  no 


68  MOUXT  ARARAT.  CHAP.  V. 

stay.  While  we  were  engaged  in  eating  our  dinner  of 
cold  potatoes  in  the  more  than  ordinarily  desolate  post- 
house,  we  were  surprised  and  somewhat  put  to  confusion, 
travel-worn  as  we  were,  by  a  visit  from  the  Governor 
in  full  uniform,  who  announced  that  most  comfortable 
quarters  and  an  excellent  supper  were  awaiting  us  in  the 
fort.  Long-continued  travelling  makes  one,  I  think 
irritable  and  anxious  to  get  forward;  otherwise  I  know 
not  what  demon  of  perversity  took  possession  of  us  to 
instigate  us,  in  spite  of  our  meagre  fare,  without  pros- 
pect of  improvement  until  next  day,  to  refuse  the  hos- 
pitable offer.  The  worthy  Count  M ,  ever  studious 

of  our  comfort,  did  not  disguise  his  vexation,  and  told 
us  we  should  repent  the  rejection  of  the  manna  in 
the  wilderness.  His  prophecy  proved  true,  for  at  mid- 
night our  steeds  declined  farther  work  ;  so  there  we  lay 
several  hours  on  the  road-side  while  they  were  refreshed 
at  a  neighbouring  hamlet.  In  the  morning  we  beheld  the 
rising  sun  in  great  glory  gilding  the  white  peak  of  Aghree 
Dagh,  as  the  Turks  and  Persians  call  Mount  Ararat; 
and  then  the  whole  mountain,  towering  and  glittering  aloft 
in  its  mantle  of  snow.  The  country  hereabout  being  flat, 
and  Ararat  not  being  many  miles  distant,  we  beheld  the 
mountain  in  all  its  solitary  grandeur.  Still  it  is  not 
wholly  solitary,  for  near  it  is  a  smaller  mountain  called 
Little  Ararat,  but  the  difference  of  height  between  it  and 
its  stupendous  companion  prevents  any  rivalry  with  the 
resting-place  of  the  Ark.  The  traditions  of  the  Ar- 
menians, who  pretend  that  whoever  surmounts  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  ascent  will  be  rewarded  with  a  sight  of  a 


CHAP.  V.  XAKHSHEWAN.  69 

fragment  of  the  veritable  Ark,  has  been  refuted  by  some 
Russian  travellers,  who  within  late  years  have  claimed 
the  honour  of  being  the  first  to  scan  the  summit  of  hoary 
Ararat.  Previously  to  our  detention  during  the  night,  we 
had  passed  Etchmiatzin,  the  principal  see  of  the  Armenian 
church,  and  residence  of  the  Patriarch,  from  whence  are 
despatched  bishops — Russian  bishops,  in  truth — not  only  to 
Persia,  but  to  India,  English  India.  In  the  latter  empire 
they  are  doubtless  innocuous,  for  their  report  to  St. 
Petersburg  can-  only  be  confirmatory  of  daily  increasing 
wealth  and  prosperity  ;  but  in  Persia  it  may  be  otherwise. 
The  loss  I  suffered  in  not  seeing  this  famous  monastery, 
I  was  told,  was  merely  one  of  fancy  and  association,  as 
Etchmiatzin,  or  Utch  Kilisiya,  meaning  Three  Churches, 
as  it  is  termed  by  the  Turks  and  Persians,  consists  of 
nothing  but  three  very  plain  monastic  buildings  or 
churches,  situated  in  the  midst  of  barren  plains.  It  is  to  the 
Armenians  an  object  of  profound  veneration  from  having 
been,  as  they  relate,  the  seat  of  their  first  patriarch  and 
patron,  St.  Gregory.  Continuing  our  journey  through  a 
level  plain  we  reached  the  venerable,  but  decayed,  city  of 
Nakhshewan,  which,  according  to  Armenian  tradition, 
had  no  less  a  founder  than  Noah  himself.  The  tomb  of 
the  great  patriarch  is  placed  in  Nakhshewan  by  these 
Christians  of  strong  faith,  who,  I  am  told,  even  pretend 
to  show  his  grave. 

His  city  is  in  a  state  of  extreme  dilapidation ;  the 
poorest  bazars,  scantily  furnished  with  the  humblest  mer- 
chandise, and  a  small  population  of  Armenians,  being  all 
that  remains  to  mark  a  site  which  teemed  with  inhabitants 


70  RUSSIAN  SOUP.  CHAP.  V. 

and  wealth.  The  neat  houses  of  the  Russian  authorities 
are  a  relief  among  the  all-pervading  decay  which  meets 
the  eye.  We  lodged  in  the  house  of  the  Governor,  as 
the  captain  of  a  few  soldiers  stationed  here  was  styled. 
Our  entertainer  was  most  hospitable,  and  as  this  was  the 
only  opportunity  for  seeing  anything  of  the  interior  of  Rus- 
sian life  in  a  middle  class,  I  must,  avail  myself  of  it  to  de- 
clare that  the  impression  it  left  was  eminently  favourable. 
The  house  of  our  host  was  good,  but  plain,  substantial, 
and  clean.  We  lived  with  him  and  his  family,  who  ful- 
filled the  ideas  of  the  domesticity  we  are  so  prone  to  boast 
of  as  exclusively  English.  The  table  was  good  and  per- 
fectly in  keeping  with  the  rest  of  the  establishment ;  still 
I  hope  I  shall  be  pardoned  a  slight  breach  of  the  reserve 
enjoined  by  the  laws  of  hospitality  if  I  remark  a  gastro- 
nomic exploit  which  excited  our  amusement  as  well  as 
our  astonishment  at  the  powers  it  revealed.  Our  hostess 
helped  herself  to  a  large  bowl  of  soup,  fattened  in  the  propor- 
tions that  Russians  love,  into  which  she  poured  half  a  bottle 
of  the  favourite  beverage,  London  stout,  adding  eggs  and 
sugar;  after  duly  amalgamating  which  ingredients,  she 
gave  a  plate  of  the  fearful  mixture  to  her  only  child,  a 
pretty,  delicate-looking,  little  girl,  who  seemed  highly 
delighted  and  refreshed  with  the  compound. 

The  Governor  and  his  wife  must  have  been  heartily 
tired  of  us.  They  were  both  genuine  Muscovites,  not 
speaking  a  syllable  of  any  language  but  their  own,  and  con- 
sequently we  were  unable  to  communicate  with  each  other 
unless  by  signs  and  contortions  ;  still  they  were  both 
thoroughly  goodhumoured  and  amiable,  submitting  with 


CHAP.  V.  QUARANTINE  HOUSES.  71 

the  best  grace  to  our  intrusion.     We  were  detained  three 
days  waiting  for  notice  of  the  arrival  of  tents  and  servants 
from  Tabreez  at  the  frontier  on  the  Aras,  distant  only 
twenty  miles  from  Erivan.    At  length  the  much-wished-for 
intelligence  arrived,  and  in  a  few  hours  we  were  on  the 
banks  of  that  stream.     Through  some  mismanagement 
respecting  our  baggage  and   carriage,  the  latter  being 
again  very  near  meeting  a  watery  grave,  we  were  forced  to 
pass  the  night  in  Russia,  at  this  quarantine  station.  A  more 
miserable    spot   than   Julfa   (as   this   frontier  post   was 
called)  we  had  not  met,  unless  perhaps  on  the  Kuban. 
The  quarantine  master  had  most  obligingly  given  up  the 
one  room  in  his  house  for  all  our  party,  which  room,  by 
an  ingenious  device,  was  converted  into  two,  while  he  and 
his  subordinates  retired  to  some  den,  as  the  quarantine 
houses  here  may  truly  be  called.     They  are  partly  sub- 
terraneous, the  roof  being  nearly  level  with  the  ground, 
and  are   entered   by  a   slope  which  commences  several 
yards  from  the  door,  and  forms  an  apt  conductor  for  the 
rain  as  it  falls  on  the  ground.     The  light  is  admitted  by 
the  door  or  a  hole  in  the  roof,  exactly  like  the  houses  we 
afterwards  saw  in  Turkish  Armenia,  on  our  return  to 
England.      Several   years  previously,  my  husband   had 
passed  fourteen  days  in  quarantine  at  Julfa,  in  one  of 
these  caverns ;  which  penance  Russia  has  condemned  all 
unfortunate  travellers  from  Persia  to  undergo  for  reasons 
not  fathomable  —  Persia  in  general,  and  above  all  Tabreez, 
and  the  entire  province  of  Azerbijan,  being  incomparably 
superior  in  salubrity  to  Georgia.     Unless  politics  lurk  at 
the  bottom,  Julfa  is  a  strange  place  for  the  establish- 


72  CHEAP  HONOURS.  CHAP.  V. 

ment  of  a  sanitary  station,  and  to  be  the  medium  for 
introducing  sound  health  into  Russia,  it  having  a  con- 
firmed character  for  malaria  during  the  summer. 

Having  expected  to  dine  in  Persia,  it  was  only  the 
charitable  hospitality  of  the  quarantine  master  which 
saved  us  from  being  dinnerless.  The  party  was  numerous 
and  miscellaneous,  presided  over  by  the  quarantine  master, 
who  was  a  Spanish  gentleman,  and  a  model  of  courtesy 
and  dignity,  which  qualities  he  preserved  under  very 
trying  circumstances.  It  was  curious  and  amusing  to  see 
him  alternately  serving  the  soup  and  washing  the  plates, 
seated  at  table.  He  performed  both  offices  with  a  solemn 
gravity  which  a  Spaniard  only  could  assume,  and  which 
entirely  overcame  the  feeling  of  his  being  engaged  in  a 
menial  occupation. 

We  here  bade  adieu  to  our  attentive  and  amiable 

friend  Count  M ,  who  had  accompanied  us  so  long 

a  distance.  Willingly,  had  his  commander  sanctioned  it, 
would  he  have  accepted  our  invitation  to  be  our  guest  to 
Tehran,  or  at  least  Tabreez,  as  he  would  have  had  a  fair 
chance  of  decorating  his  breast  with  what  a  Russian  loves 
so  dearly,  another  cross  or  star — I  mean  the  Lion  and 
Sun — which  it  would  have  been  possible  to  have  obtained 
for  him.  It  is  strange  with  what  avidity  Russian  officers 
covet  these  equivocal  marks  of  honour — honourable,  and 
highly  so,  when  fairly  won,  but  contemptible  when  be- 
stowed through  caprice  and  favour.  I  remember  per- 
fectly well  hearing  in  Persia  of  various  occasions  on 
which  the  Russian  Minister  solicited  the  decoration  of  the 
Lion  and  Sun  for  this  off  and  that ski,  who  had 


CHAP.  V.  TREATMENT  OF  SERVANTS.  73 

glorified  the  arms  of  Russia  in  Circassia,  and  whose  feats 
of  arms  Persia  was  called  on  to  reward. 

Sunrise  came,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were  shoved  in 
the  most  primitive  of  boats  over  the  Aras.  We  offered 
a  farewell  to  Russia  with  grateful  feelings  for  the  prodigal 
attentions  which  had  been  showered  on  us.  Russia  is 
often  reviled,  but  if  we  were  to  judge  of  the  national  cha- 
racter by  what  we  saw,  candour  would  oblige  us  to 
declare  that  intelligence,  cordiality,  and  liberality  are 
the  prevailing  qualities.  Much  of  course  was  due  to 
official  position,  but  every  Englishman,  whatever  his  rank, 
travelling  in  Russia  has  hitherto  always  met  with  kind- 
ness and  attention.  This  has  not  been,  as  I  said  be- 
fore, from  love  or  liking ;  for  I  doubt  not  that  every 
one  felt,  at  least  every  one  of  reflection  felt,  that  a  crisis 
between  the  two  nations  was  impending, — that  the  day 
was  approaching  when  it  must  be  decided  whether  the 
East  or  the  West  of  Europe,  the  Sclavonian  or  the  Celto- 
German  race,  was  to  be  predominant.  But  I  am  touch- 
ing on  politics,  a  domain  from  which  I  have  resolved  to 
exclude  myself.  What  struck  me  more  than  anything 
else  in  Russia  was  the  disregard  of  the  upper  classes  for 
the  feelings  of  their  servants  and  dependents.  They 
seemed  to  me  to  look  on  and  to  treat  them  as  inferior 
animals.  They  seem  to  have  no  rooms  allotted  for 
their  use  ;  the  lobby  and  the  ante-room  are  their  apart- 
ments, and  the  bare  bench  is  their  bed.  We  heard  a 
curious  fact  at  Stavropol,  which  I  may  as  well  relate  in 
this  place : — A  landed  proprietor  perceived  in  one  of  his 
young  serfs  a  decided  talent  and  inclination  for  painting. 

£ 


74  AN  EDUCATED  SERF.  CHAP.  V. 

He  sent  the  lad  to  Rome,  and  there  education  made  him 
not  only  a  first-rate  painter,  but  also  developed  his  mind 
on  every  subject.  At  the  end  of  some  years  he  was 
recalled  to  Russia  by  his  master,  who  found  him  too 
valuable  to  give  him  his  freedom  ;  and  this  well-educated 
gentleman  is  actually  a  slave  of  the  nobleman  who  sent 
him  to  Italy,  and  obliged  to  paint  for  his  benefit.  I 
cannot  imagine  a  more  melancholy  fate. 


CHAP.  VI.  ARRIVAL  IN  PERSIA.  75 


•   CHAPTER  VI. 

Arrival  in  Persia  —  Aspect  of  the  country  —  Want  of  population  — 
Warlike   costume  —  The  unfortunate  cow  —  Maraud  —  The  Azau 

—  Our  entrance  to  Tabreez  —  First  impression  of  a  Persian  city 

—  Frequent    earthquakes  —  The    Ark  —  Kajar's    coffee  —  Climate 
of  Tabreez  —  The  angel  Gabriel's  address  to  Adam  in  Turkish  — 
Languages  in  use  in  Persia. 

October  29^. — HERE  then  we  were  at  length  in  Persia, 
the  land  of  Cyrus,  Darius,  and  Alexander.  We  think  of 
the  millions  of  Xerxes,  the  Great  King  ;  we  contemplate 
the  barren  scene  spread  before  the  eyes,  and  ask  where 
they  all  came  from.  Sterile  indeed  was  the  prospect,  and 
unhappily  it  proved  to  be  an  epitome  of  all  the  scenery  in 
Persia,  excepting  on  the  coast  of  the  Caspian.  A  deso- 
late plain,  or  rather  valley,  bounded  on  each  side  by  rocky 
or  chalky  mountains  still  more  desolate — not  a  tree  visible 
excepting  the  few  willows,  poplars,  and  fruit-trees  sur- 
rounding the  villages  thinly  scattered  over  the  waste. 
Such  is  Persia  and  her  scenery  in  general,  excepting  that 
sometimes  a  fine  village  is  to  be  seen  smothered  in  im- 
mense gardens,  orchards  of  the  most  delicious  fruits,  and 
vineyards.  These  bright  spots  are,  however,  not  numer- 
ous ;  and  the  curt  description  of  a  Scottish  traveller  of 
what  he  saw  in  Persia  is  not  altogether  devoid  of  truth. 
According  to  him,  the  whole  land  is  divided  into  two  por- 
tions— one  being  desert  with  salt,  and  the  other  desert 
without  salt.  Fruit,  nevertheless,  is  abundant  and  cheap, 

E  2 


76  ASPECT  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  CHAP.  VI. 

owing  to  extensive  cultivation  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
towns.  Near  the  villages  corn  is  so  widely  cultivated 
that  extensive  plains  of  wheat  and  barley  are  spread  on  all 
sides  ;  for  desolate  as  looks  the  soil,  all  it  wants  is  popu- 
lation and  water  to  make  it  fruitful.  Sometimes  the  tra- 
veller passes  for  miles  through  a  plain,  or  over  moun- 
tains far  remote  from  human  habitation,  covered  with 
aromatic  plants,  from  which  the  most  delicious  spicy 
odours  are  exhaled.  Yet  the  general  aspect  of  the  land 
is  one  of  extreme  barrenness ;  one  may  often,  and  very 
often,  travel  twenty  or  thirty  miles  without  seeing  a  habi- 
tation or  a  blade  of  verdure  ;  and  in  some  parts  of  Persia 
these  distances  amount  to  hundreds  of  miles.  From 
whence,  then,  did  the  enormous  hosts  of  yore  proceed 
— the  millions  of  the  weeping  Xerxes  ?  Greek  and  Per- 
sian exaggeration  and  bombast,  in  which  both  nations 
are  still  supereminent,  might  account  for  much  ;  still  the 
country  must  have  been  in  a  very  different  state  from  what 
we  behold  it  to  admit  of  even  a  distant  approach  to  the 
numbers  recorded  by  historians  as  having  marched  to  the 
invasion  of  Greece.  The  incursions  from  Tartary  have  no 
doubt  contributed  to  reduce  the  country  to  its  present 
depopulated  state.  Blood  marked  their  track  :  above  all, 
the  generals  sent  by  Chengeez,  the  leaders  of  the  Moghul 
hosts,  seemed  to  have  been  incarnations  of  Izraeel  and  Isra- 
feel,  the  Angels  of  Death.  Submission  or  resistance  seems 
to  have  been  equally  fatal ;  and  slaughter — the  indiscri- 
minate slaughter  of  the  young  and  the  aged,  of  man  and  of 
woman — was  the  lot  of  the  wretched  population  in  both 
cases.  In  this  way  the  inhabitants  of  the  immense  city  of 
Rei,  near  Tehran,  were  exterminated.  Toos,  in  Khorassan, 


CHAP.  VI.  APPROACH  TO  TABREEZ.  77 

suffered  the  same  desolation.  Hostile  armies,  and  the  slow 
though  sure  hand  of  oppression,  have  laid  waste  these 
lands,  and  reduced  them  to  a  scanty  population,  or  to  a 
dreary  solitude,  where  the  useless  wandering  Toork  and 
Lek  erect  their  miserable  habitations. 

Before  we  stepped  out  of  our  frail  boat  I  had  covered 
my  face  with  a  thick  veil,  and,  after  much  persuasion, 
induced  my  two  attendant  countrywomen  to  follow  the 
example.  They  thought  this  a  great  hardship;  but  I 
did  not  wish  to  shock  the  prejudices  of  the  Mahommedans, 
who  would  have  despised  us,  if  unveiled,  as  people  wholly 
divested  of  common  propriety.  A  novel  and  busy  scene 
awaited  us  on  the  Persian  bank  of  the  river.  A  number 
of  the  mission  servants,  Gholams,  Peeshkhidmets,  Ferashes, 
had  been  sent  from  Tehran  to  meet  us.  The  Prince 
Governor  of  the  province  of  Azerbijan,  in  which  we  now 
had  arrived,  had  despatched  from  his  capital,  Tabreez,  a 
mehmandar,  of  the  rank  of  brigadier,  with  a  large  suite 
and  escort,  to  receive  the  English  Minister  on  getting 
foot  in  Persia,  and  to  conduct  him  to  Tabreez.  The 
neighbouring  villages  had  also  sent  their  contributions  of 
the  feudal  cavalry,  holding  land  on  the  tenure  of  military 
service.  A  litter,  or  takhterewan,  literally  moving  sofa, 
covered  with  bright  scarlet  cloth,  and  supported  by  two 
mules  also  covered  with  scarlet,  together  with  a  kajawa 
(a  sort  of  box  on  each  side  of  a  mule,  used  by  women  and 
invalids  travelling)  for  the  women  servants,  had  been  sent 
for  my  use  ;  but  in  my  inexperience  of  Persian  roads,  I 
preferred  remaining  in  the  carriage,  from  whence  I  had 
the  advantage  of  gazing  at  the  wild  figures  and  the  novel 
scene  before  me.  A  Persian  on  horseback,  prepared  for 


78  WARLIKE  COSTUME.  CHAP.  VI. 

war  or  a  journey,  is  to  the  eye,  at  all  events,  a  formidable 
personage.  He  is  armed  from  top  to  toe  :  a  long  gun  at 
his  back,  a  pistol  at  his  waist,  another  behind,  a  sword  at 
his  left,  a  tremendous  dagger  called  a  kamma  at  his 
right,  while  at  his  belt  dangles  an  infinity  of  horns  for 
various  sorts  of  ammunition — powder  for  loading,  powder 
for  priming,  balls,  £c.  Add  to  this  a  swarthy  visage 
half  hid  in  a  long  black  beard,  a  tall  cap  of  lambskin, 
immense  trousers,  boots,  red  or  black,  to  the  knee,  a 
shaggy  yaponcha  on  his  shoulder,  a  short  chibouk  under 
the  flap  of  his  saddle,  and  the  Persian  horseman  is  com- 
plete. He  and  his  horse  are  a  brisk,  active-looking  pair, 
though  hardly  equal  to  our  rough  friends  on  the  Kuban ; 
yet  I  have  been  told  that  in  the  last  war  with  Russia  the 
real  irregular  cavalry  of  Persia,  that  is,  the  horsemen  of 
the  tribes  and  the  Koordish  cavalry,  never  hesitated  to 
face  and  generally  to  overcome  the  Cossacks. 

Colonel  S and  the  Brigadier  were  old  friends ;  my 

husband  having  many  years  previously  had  charge  of  the 
drill  and  discipline  of  a  regiment  of  the  Shah's  guards, 
in  which  the  Brigadier  was  a  captain.  After  they  had 
finished  their  salams,  and  asked  each  other  some  twenty 
times  if  their  "  noses  were  fat,"  that  is,  if  their  spirits 
were  good,  we  set  forth.  A  number  of  horsemen  rushed 
on  in  front,  and  spread  themselves  over  the  plain.  Some 
among  them  played  Ky-kaj — that  is,  a  horseman  gallops 
at  full  speed  pursued  by  another,  both  unslinging  their 
long  guns.  It  is  very  amusing  to  observe  the  foppery, 
grace,  and  attitude  with  which  the  young  cavaliers  per- 
form this  operation.  The  leader  turns  straight  round  in 
his  saddle,  and  aims  a  shot  at  his  pursuer,  who  bends 


CHAP.  VI.  PERSIAN  HORSEMEN.  79 

down  below  the  horse's  neck  to  evade  the  imaginary  ball. 
This  they  do  at  full  speed,  loading  and  firing  with  the 
utmost  dexterity,  galloping  furiously  over  the  most  dan- 
gerous and  broken  ground.  I  am  told  that  a  Persian  is  a 
very  powerful  rider,  but  that  his  "  hand  "  is  so  desperately 
rough  as  to  deprive  the  horse's  mouth  of  nearly  all  sensa- 
tion. He  is  said  to  be  far  inferior  to  the  Hindostanee 
horseman  in  grace  and  dexterous  feats  on  horseback,  such 
as  jerking  out  with  his  lance  a  tent-pin  deeply  fixed  in  the 
ground,  the  horse  at  half-speed  ;  or  galloping  in  a  circle 
round  his  lance,  the  point  on  the  ground,  and  the  other 
end  on  his  arm  :  but  that  in  energetic,  bold  riding,  which 
stops  at  nothing,  the  Persian  infinitely  surpasses  the  tur- 
baned  cavaliers  of  India.  The  whole  nation  seems  to  ride 
by  instinct.  I  have  often  seen  our  scullions,  or  other 
servants,  placed  accidentally  on  a  horse  for  the  first  time 
in  their  lives,  scamper  away  with  perfect  fearlessness. 
Others  among  our  cortege  played  at  the  jereed  for  our 
amusement.  A  horseman  holds  poised  in  his  hand  a  thick 
stick,  four  feet  in  length  ;  he  rushes  at  full  speed,  and 
dashes  the  point  on  the  ground  so  as  to  cause  it  to  rebound 
high  in  the  air,  and  catches  it,  if  he  can,  that  is  to  say, 
before  it  reaches  the  earth,  though  I  must  confess  I  never 
saw  a  single  jereed  player  succeed  in  this  feat.  A 
thorough  horseman  ought  to  pick  up  his  fallen  jereed 
without  leaving  the  saddle  ;  but  the  success  of  this,  like 
the  other  exploit,  seems  to  be  traditional. 

Such  is  the  way  in  which  Persians  of  rank  beguile  the 
tedium  of  the  march  ;  adding  to  these  amusements  the 
resources  of  chibouks  and  kaleeans,  and  sometimes  a  cup 
of  sugarless  coffee.  The  poor  horses  suffer  :  but  a  Per- 


80  THE  GOVERNOR'S  HOSPITALITY.          CHAP.  VI. 

sian,  though  he  seldom  flogs  his  horse,  or  punishes  him 
from  ill  temper,  seems  to  consider  him,  by  the  severity  of 
his  treatment,  as  made  only  to  endure  fatigues  and  hard- 
ships. 

Our  route  lay  through  a  long  defile,  over  the  most 
execrable  road — apparently  the  bed  of  the  mountain 
torrent — that  ever  an  unhappy  carriage  from  Long  Acre 
was  destined  to  roll.  It  was  literally  composed  of  great 
blocks  of  rock,  each  piece  distant  from  its  neighbour  two 
or  three  feet,  over  which  the  carriage  pitched,  strained, 
and  creaked  like  a  ship  in  a  gale  of  wind.  All  this 
pitching  and  heaving  caused  me  the  liveliest  alarm,  lest 
it  should  eventuate  in  a  fracture  which  all  Azerbijan 
could  not  repair.  The  Persian  postilions,  however,  took 
the  matter  with  great  coolness  and  great  skill.  They  had 
been  artillery  drivers,  and  treated  the  vehicle  with  the 
same  indifference  as  their  gun,  and  fortunately  no 
misfortune  occurred.  A  short  march  of  twelve  miles 
brought  us  to  our  camp.  The  Prince  Governor  had 
most  considerately  sent  a  suite  of  tents  for  our  accom- 
modation; and  on  entering  the  principal  one  we  found 
a  beautiful  and  most  ample  collation  of  fruits  and 
sweetmeats.  His  Royal  Highness  seemed  resolved  we 
should  imagine  ourselves  still  in  Europe.  The  table 
(for  there  was  one)  was  covered  with  a  complete  and 
very  handsome  European  service  in  plate,  glass,  and 
china,  and,  to  crown  the  whole,  six  bottles  of  champagne 
displayed  their  silvery  heads,  accompanied  by  a  dozen 
other  bottles  of  the  wines  of  France  and  Spain.  I  thought 
within  myself  that  this  was  a  strange  mode  of  carrying 
out  the  precepts  of  the  Koran,  little  dreaming  of  the 


CHAP.  VI.  PERSIAN  ETIQUETTE.  81 

real  state  of  the  case  in  Persia.  I  came  to  the  conclusion 
that,  under  certain  circumstances,  the  prejudices  of  the 
Mussulman  had  yielded  to  the  hospitality  of  the  Eelyat,  or 
tribeman,  to  his  guest.  With  Oriental  delicacy  an  ande- 
roon,  or  haram,  had  been  prepared  for  me,  consisting  of 
a  small  tent  lined  with  gaily  striped  silk,  besides  tents 
for  women  servants,  the  whole  surrounded  by  a  high  wall 
of  canvas,  furnishing  a  tolerably  large  enclosure,  in  which 
I  could  remain  in  entire  seclusion. 

Two  days'  more  travelling,  of  about  sixteen  miles  a 
day,  brought  us  to  the  small  town  of  Maraud.  On 
approaching  within  two  or  three  miles,  we  were  met  by 
a  large  concourse  of  people,  headed  by  the  Governor,  all 
come  out  to  pay  their  compliments  to  the  English  Elchee. 
This  is  a  general  practice  in  Persia,  and  its  omission  is 
considered  a  slight.  To  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  I 
am  told  the  Russians  have  gone  so  far  as  to  make  a  treaty 
on  the  subject,  defining  all  the  honours,  the  sweetmeats, 
the  sugar,  the  visits  from  the  Prime  Minister  downwards, 
which  they  are  entitled  to  exact.  It  seems  we  have  not 
been  so  tenacious  of  our  dignity,  but  I  never  heard  we 
had  anything  to  complain  of  in  matters  of  etiquette ;  and 
I  can  bear  personal  testimony  that  the  saccharine  part  of 
the  treaty  was  as  scrupulously  observed  in  our  regard  as 
if  we  had  been  contracting  parties. 

At  every  station,  from  the  Aras  to  Tehran,  the  first 
thing  I  beheld  on  entering  the  room  was  several  pounds 
of  tea,  flanked  by  a  suitable  number  of  loaves  of  sugar, 
with  a  whole  cargo  of  sweetmeats,  on  which  the  Persian 
servants  regaled  themselves  with  all  the  greediness  of 
children. 

E  3 


82  THE  UNFORTUNATE  COW.  CHAP.  VI. 

Our  entrance  to  Marand  was  distinguished  by  a  most 
disagreeable  ceremony,  which  was  attempted  to  be  re- 
peated at  every  village  at  which  we  halted,  not  only  on 
this  but  on  every  succeeding  journey  during  our  residence 
in  Persia.  On  approaching  the  town,  I  observed  an  un- 
fortunate cow  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd,  close  to  the 
roadside,  held  down  by  the  head  and  feet;  when  we 
came  within  a  yard  or  so  of  the  miserable  animal,  a  man 
brandished  a  large  knife,  with  which  he  instantly,  before 
there  was  time  for  interference,  severed  its  head  from  its 
body.  He  then  ran  across  our  road  with  the  head,  allow- 
ing the  blood  to  flow  on  our  path  in  torrents,  and  we 
passed  on  to  encounter  a  repetition  of  the  same  cruel 
rites  performed  on  various  sheep.  This  ceremony  was 
called  Korban,  or  sacrifice,  these  poor  creatures  having 
been  immolated  in  order  that  all  the  misfortunes,  evils, 
and  disasters,  which  might  overtake  us,  should  fall  on 
them ;  and  fall  on  them  they  assuredly  did.  So  intent 
are  the  Persians  on  the  observance  of  this  mark  of  rever- 
ence to  power  and  station,  that  the  most  rigid  prohibition 
could  hardly  prevent  its  fulfilment.  We  passed  through 
the  town,  headed  by  a  body  of  Ferashes,  or  footmen,  carry- 
ing long  rods,  emblems  of  their  office  of  executioners 
when  the  bastinado  is  inflicted.  They  drove  aside  the 
crowd,  shouting  from  time  to  time  Birooeed,  Birooeed! 
(begone,  begone),  occasionally  using  their  rods  on  those 
whose  curiosity  exceeded  their  discretion.  It  was  on 
the  women,  however,  that  these  modern  lictors,  who  are 
skilled  in  all  the  varieties  of  torture,  principally  inflicted 
their  castigation.  If  an  unlucky  damsel,  though  veiled 
from  head  to  foot,  peeped  out  from  a  door  or  over  a  wall, 


CHAP.  VI.  "  TROUSERS  WITH  ONE  LEG."  83 

half-a-dozen  of  these  myrmidons  rushed  at  her,  and 
drove  her  away  with  blows  and  imprecations.  We  were 
lodged  in  a  very  commodious  house,  belonging  to  a  holy 
syed  or  descendant  of  the  Prophet,  whose  countenance 
did  not  present  a  very  amiable  aspect  when  he  beheld  a 
herd  of  Kafirs,  as  he  deemed  us,  taking  possession  of  his 
domicile  to  the  exclusion  of  his  own  family.  The  word 
Giaour,  so  usual  in  Turkey,  is  unknown  in  Persia,  unless 
on  the  borders  of  Turkey,  although  perhaps  derived  from 
the  Persian  word  Gebr,  meaning  the  fire-worshippers  of 
the  ancient  race.  The  syed  was  constantly  passing  to 
and  fro,  casting  black  looks  at  the  intruders,  while  the 
ladies  of  his  family  peeped  at  us  from  a  distant  stable 
where  they  had  taken  up  their  temporary  abode,  dying 
with  curiosity  to  pay  a  visit  to  a  woman  who  wore 
"  trousers  with  one  leg,"  but  interdicted  by  the  presence 
of  strangers.  This  is  the  name  which  Persian  women 
have  given  to  gowns  and  petticoats  of  European  fashion, 
to  distinguish  them  from  their  own  trousers.  In  the 
morning,  however,  before  the  hour  of  departure,  a  toler- 
able fee  for  the  use  of  his  house  relaxed  the  grimness 
of  our  host's  features ;  and  smiles,  bows,  and  ejacula- 
tions of  "  Khoosh  geldin,  seffa  geturdin"  (welcome,  your 
presence  is  an  ornament),  showed  that  his  bigotry  was 
not  proof  against  even  an  infidel's  gold.  But  to  do 
justice  to  the  Persians,  it  must  be  allowed  that  to  tra- 
vellers they  are  most  hospitable.  This  was  the  only  occa- 
sion on  which  I  observed  any  reluctance  to  receive  us  as 
inmates  ;  and  I  heard  from  the  other  European  residents 
of  Tehran,  that,  excepting  in  Mazenderan,  where  the 
bigotry  of  the  inhabitants,  owing  to  their  remoteness  and 


84  SOONNEES  AND  SIIEAHS.  CHAP.  VI. 

little  intercourse  with  strangers,  is  supreme,  they  never 
experienced  any  difficulty  in  finding  accommodation  in  the 
villages  in  any  part  of  Persia.  It  was  at  Marand  that  1 
first  heard  the  Azan,  or  call  of  the  Mussulmans  to  prayer, 
so  solemn  and  impressive,  especially  when  well  chanted, 
for  it  is  in  fact  a  chant.  On  the  roof  of  a  neighbouring 
mosque,  which  from  its  modest,  unpretending  appearance 
resembled  a  private  house,  I  perceived  a  Moolla  whose 
head,  instead  of  the  ordinary  black  lambskin  cap,  was 
covered  with  a  large  green  turban  to  show  his  descent 
from  Mahommed.  He  turned  towards  Mecca,  and  plac- 
ing his  open  hands  to  his  head,  proclaimed  with  a  loud 
sonorous  voice,  "  Allah  ho  akbar,"  which  he  repeated  four 
times  ;  then  "Eshhedo  enna  la  illaha  illellah" — (I  bear 
witness  there  is  no  God  but  God),  twice  ;  then  "  Eshhedo 
enna  Mahammedan  resool  Allah" — (I  bear  witness  that 
Mahommed  is  the  Prophet  of  God),  twice  ;  then  I  "  bear 
witness  that  Ali,  the  Commander  of  the  Faithful,  is  the 
friend  of  God,"  &c.  If  a  Persian  were  to  proclaim  the 
last  sentiment  aloud  in  any  part  of  Turkey  it  would  cost 
him  his  life.  It  is  the  shibboleth  between  the  great 
Mussulman  sects  of  Soonnee  and  Sheah,  the  former  being 
professed  by  the  Turks  and  the  majority  of  the  Mussul- 
man world,  and  the  latter  by  the  Persians.  There  seems 
to  be  little  or  no  difference  in  doctrine  between  the  two 
religions,  excepting  that,  by  the  Sheahs,  Ali,  the  son-in- 
law  of  Mahommed,  is  regarded  as  his  successor ;  while, 
according  to  their  rivals,  Abubekr,  Omar,  and  Osman  take 
precedence.  I  may  add  that  the  Soonnees  eat  hares  and 
porcupines,  which  the  Persians  consider  an  abomination. 
The  point  of  dissension  being  small,  the  rivalry  and  ani- 


CHAP.  VI.  THE  MUEZZIN.  85 

mosity  are  great.  The  Persians,  however,  fare  worst  in 
the  dispute ;  for  Mecca,  Kerballa,  and  all  the  other  shrines 
of  Sheah  veneration  and  pilgrimage,  are  in  the  hands  of 
the  Turks.  The  Iranees  are  forced  on  such  occasions  to 
ignore  their  own  faith  and  adopt  the  outward  forms  of 
Soonneeism.  This  laxity  is  lawful  and  even  prescribed  in 
the  Sheah  creed,  but  is  never  practised  among  Turks  or 
other  Soonnees,  who  admit  of  no  concealment  or  equivo- 
cation in  matters  of  faith,  even  to  escape  from  the  crown 
of  martyrdom. 

The  single  toll  in  the  knell  for  transporting  the  dead 
to  their  last  earthly  abode  arouses,  perhaps  from  asso- 
ciation, ideas  of  profound  solemnity ;  so  too  does  the 
trumpet  echoing  through  the  camp  when  it  ushers  the 
dragoon  to  his  grave ;  but  above  both,  in  solemn  awe, 
is  the  keening  as  it  sweeps  afar  over  the  dales  and  hills 
of  Munster,  announcing  that  a  Gael  has  been  gathered 
to  his  fathers.  The  Azan  excites  a  different  impres- 
sion. It  raises  in  the  mind  a  combination  of  feelings,  of 
dignity,  solemnity,  and  devotion,  compared  with  which 
the  din  of  bells  becomes  insignificant.  It  is  an  imposing 
thing  to  hear  in  the  dead  of  the  night  the  first  sounds  of 
the  Muezzin  proclaiming  "  Allah  ho  Akbar — Mighty  is 
the  Lord — I  bear  witness  there  is  no  God  but  God  !"  St. 
Peter's  and  St.  Paul's  together  can  produce  nothing 
equal  to  it. 

Three  easy  stages  over  a  very  tolerable  road,  through 
valleys  with  mountains  on  both  sides,  sometimes  near, 
sometimes  more  distant,  brought  us  to  Tabreez  on  the 
2nd  of  November.  Here  preparations  on  a  grand  scale 
were  made  for  a  solemn  entry,  from  which  I,  however,  as 


86  APPROACH  TO  TABREEZ.  CHAP.  VI. 

belonging  to  the  inferior  and  ignoble  class  of  womankind, 
was  excluded,  though  I  was  permitted  to  gaze  on  the 
scene  at  a  distance.  It  was  difficult  to  say  how  many 
thousand  people  had  assembled,  or  what  class  of  persons 
had  not  come  forth  to  do  honour  to  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land's representative.  There  were  princes  and  priests, 
and  merchants,  and  moollas,  and  mountebanks,  and  der- 
vishes, and  beggars;  there  were  Koordish  and  Toork 
horsemen  of  the  tribes,  and  soldiers,  and  Ghoolams  ;  in 
short  there  was  everything  and  everybody,  but  there  was 
not  a  single  woman,  for  in  Persia  a  woman  is  nobody. 
The  cavalcade  began  four  miles  from  the  town,  and  each 
step  brought  a  fresh  reinforcement  to  the  procession,  or 
istikbal,  as  it  is  called.  The  visitors  approached  the 
envoy,  and  after  paying  their  compliments  and  congratula- 
tions, rode  by  his  side  or  fell  behind  according  to  their 
rank.  The  advance  was  slow,  the  dust  stifling,  the  fatigue 
of  complimenting  several  thousand  people  overwhelming ; 
but  careful  of  the  exhausted  envoy,  and  the  Russian  treaty 
on  etiquette  moreover  not  being  out  of  his  view,  his  royal 
highness  the  Prince  Governor  had  prepared  a  tent  mid- 
way where  the  grandees  of  the  istikbal  alighted,  smoked 
kalleeans  and  chibouks,  drank  tea  and  coffee,  and  partook 
of  the  everlasting  sweetmeats.  To  horse  again,  with  a 
greater  crowd  than  ever !  more  beggars,  more  lootees  or 
mountebanks  with  their  bears  and  monkeys,  more  der- 
vishes vociferating  for  inam  or  bakhshish,  heaping 
praises  and  blessings  without  measure  on  Ala  Hezret 
Padshah  e  Inglis — her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  England, 
and  Junabe  Elchee — his  Excellency  the  Envoy,  and 
uttering  loud  benedictions  on  Hezret  Eesa  and  Hezret  e 


CHAP.  VI.  AERIVAL  AT  TABREEZ.  87 

Miriam — the  Lord  Jesus  and  the  Blessed  Mary.  These 
latter  benedictions  surprised  me,  but  I  afterwards  learned 
that,  with  the  exception  of  the  denial  of  his  divinity,  and 
the  assertion  of  his  being  second  to  Mahommed,  and  to 
Mahommed  only,  the  veneration  of  Mussulmans  for  our 
Saviour  nearly  equals  our  own.  They  rarely  allude  to 
him  without  using  the  words  Hezret  Eesa,  alehoos 
salam — the  Lord  Jesus,  on  whom  be  blessings.  They 
believe  him  to  have  been  a  special  creation  of  the  Almighty, 
like  Adam,  by  his  will  alone.  Their  reverence  for  the 
Blessed  Virgin  too  is  not  much  inferior  to  the  homage  of 
the  church  of  Rome,  the  Russo-Greek  church,  and  all 
the  churches  of  the  East.  The  tall  white  lily  is,  in 
Persian,  called  the  Goole  Miriam,  or  Flower  of  Mary  ; 
and  in  a  Persian  painting  representing  the  Annunciation, 
lilies  are  growing  round  her. 

The  throng  now  reached  the  town ;  and  here  began  the 
tug  of  war.  The  deep  broad  ditch  surrounding  the  city 
was  crossed  by  a  narrow  causeway,  over  which  the  multi- 
tude passed.  The  leaders  had  no  difficulty ;  but  when 
the  reckless  crowd  arrived — for  a  Persian  on  horseback  is 
thoroughly  reckless — every  one  pressing  forward,  despite 
of  kicking  and  fighting  horses,  the  confusion  and  uproar 
may  be  imagined.  However,  they  all  got  through  at  last, 
though  whether  with  any  killed  and  wounded,  or  not,  I 
cannot  tell  ;  and  I  brought  up  the  rear,  and  entered  the  city 
covered  with  dust,  and  hot  and  tired.  Anything  more 
dismal  can  hardly  be  conceived.  The  images  of  youth 
are  not  easily  effaced  ;  and  the  '  Arabian  Nights '  and 
'  Lalla  Rookh '  will  hold  their  place  in  the  memory, 
whether  it  will  or  not.  But  once  inside  the  gate  of  a 


88  TABREEZ.  CHAP.  VI. 

Persian  city,  the  charm  is  dissolved,  the  magician's  wand 
is  broken,  and  reality  takes  the  place  of  romance,  which 
is  destroyed  for  ever.  Half  the  city  seemed  depopulated  ; 
there  were  large  spaces  wholly  vacant,  with  deep  excava- 
tions on  either  hand,  from  which  the  earth  had  been  dug 
to  build  houses.  Dead  dogs,  and  here  and  there  a  dead 
horse  half  eaten,  offended  more  than  one  sense.  The 
houses  were  frightful.  Constructed  of  brown  unburnt 
bricks,  looking  exactly  like  mud,  and  without  a  single 
window  to  the  street,  they  presented  a  most  gloomy  aspect. 
This  is  a  general  picture  of  a  Persian  town ;  and  be  it 
remembered  that  Tabreez  is  one  of  the  best  and  richest 
cities  in  the  whole  kingdom.  As  we  approached  the 
European  and  Armenian  quarter  some  improvement  began 
to  be  visible.  A  few  of  the  houses  had  windows,  here  and 
there  an  ornamental  gateway  appeared,  and  some  attempt 
at  embellishment  was  made  by  means  of  paint.  Still 
the  sombre  brick  and  a  general  air  of  decay,  maintained 
supremacy.  It  is  nevertheless  only  the  outside  of  a 
Persian  house  which  looks  so  comfortless.  The  interior 
of  those  belonging  to  the  better  classes  are  very  commo- 
dious, and  often  of  great  size. 

On  arriving  at  the  British  Government-house  the  first 
thing  that  I  saw  was  a  whole  roomful  of  sweetmeats — 
sugar-candy  and  refined  sugar — sent  by  the  Prince  Go- 
vernor as  a  mark  of  congratulation.  Every  festival  is 
celebrated  in  this  way.  The  Queen's  birthday,  our  new- 
year's  day,  the  Persian  new-year's  day,  invariably  brought 
in  each  succeeding  year  a  supply  from  the  Shah,  carried 
by  his  majesty's  ferashes  through  the  most  public  parts  of 
the  town,  on  immense  trays,  covered  with  embroidered 


CHAP.  VI.  TABREEZ.  89 

silk.  The  etiquette  was  to  send  back  the  covers,  which 
I  confess  I  used  to  do  with  reluctance  ;  for  they  were 
sometimes  very  handsome.  An  omission  in  these  matters 
is  looked  on  as  a  slight,  which  the  Russians  are  careful 
in  avoiding,  by  notifying  to  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs 
his  imperial  majesty's  birthday,  fete-day,  saint's-day, 
and  the  other  host  of  festivals  which  the  Muscovites  love 
to  solemnise.  These  honours  are  rather  costly,  the  bear- 
ers of  these  sweetmeats  not  being  at  all  satisfied  unless 
they  receive  a  donation  to  the  amount  of  twelve  or  fifteen 
pounds  sterling.  His  majesty,  who  is  of  a  very  affable 
and  amiable  disposition,  during  his  hunting  excursions  / 
near  Tehran  often  sends  a  few  partridges  or  hares  to  the 
foreign  representatives,  as  a  mark  of  his  favour ;  and  it  is 
little  exaggeration  to  say  that  each  head  of  game  costs  its 
weight  in  silver. 

We  passed  five  days  in  Tabreez.  The  weather  was 
cold  and  cheerless,  and  I  remained  most  of  the  time  in 
solitary  seclusion;  while  my  husband  was  employed  the 
whole  time  in  receiving  and  returning  visits.  A  Persian 
visit  is  a  formidable  ceremony,  involving  a  prodigious 
consumption  of  time.  Pipes,  coffee  ;  pipes,  tea  ;  and  then 
pipes  twice  again,  is  the  usual  routine.  They  are  a 
vivacious,  intelligent  people  ;  and  I  am  told  the  men 
are  often  agreeable  in  conversation,  relating  anecdotes, 
and  quoting  passages  from  poetry  and  history  with 
readiness  and  animation.  Still  a  Persian  visit  is  said 
to  be  in  general  extremely  tiresome.  The  conversation 
of  a  visitor  is  entirely  about  himself,  his  maladies, 
his  disasters ;  his  pay  has  been  stopped  ;  his  mill  has  been 
seized ;  his  stream  of  water  has  been  carried  off;  his 


90  TABREEZ.  CHAP.  VI. 

garden  has  been  pledged ;  his  debts  are  burdensome  ;  the 
interest  of  a  hundred  per  cent,  is  oppressive,  &c.  &c.,  to 
the  end  of  the  chapter.  Like  a  Frenchman,  whom  he  is 
said  to  resemble  in  many  points,  his  thoughts  are  centred 
in  his  own  person ;  and  he  seems  to  think  his  affairs  are 
as  interesting  to  others  as  to  himself.  On  hearing  those 
details  of  bodily  ailments  we  were  often  reminded  of  the 
lines — 

"  Some  men  employ  their  health — an  ugly  trick, 
In  telling  us  how  oft  they  have  been  sick ; 
And  give  us,  in  recitals  of  disease, 
A  doctor's  trouble — but  without  the  fees." 

Tabreez  is  represented  to  be  a  city  of  great  antiquity. 
Han  way,  who  travelled  about  the  year  1730,  describes  it 
to  have  been  in  former  times  one  of  the  finest  cities  of  the 
East.  Its  environs,  many  miles  in  extent,  to  the  S.W., 
are  covered  with  mounds,  heaps  of  ruins  and  rubbish, 
denoting  the  positions  of  ancient  structures.  It  possesses 
some  interest  as  being  the  site  of  one  of  the  cities  near 
which  Mark  Antony  is  supposed  to  have  passed  in  his 
retreat  from  Persia.  Three  centuries  ago  it  is  reported 
to  have  contained  five  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  ;  but 
war,  anarchy,  and  earthquake  have  sadly  reduced  its 
populousness.  In  the  last  century  it  was  two  or  three 
times  devastated  by  the  last-named  calamity.  The  city 
was  nearly  overthrown  in  1721 ;  and  tens  of  thousands 
perished  on  that  occasion.  Even  now  repeated  shocks  are 
felt,  sometimes  to  a  most  alarming  extent,  every  year, 
warning  the  citizens  against  a  catastrophe.  In  many  houses 
the  precaution  has  been  adopted  of  constructing  a  wooden 
room  as  a  place  of  refuge  in  the  hour  of  danger.  I  found, 


CHAP.  VI.  TABEEEZ.  91 

to  my  great  satisfaction,  having  no  experience  in  earth- 
quakes, an  apartment  of  this  kind  in  the  government- 
house,  but  to  which  happily  there  was  no  need  to  have 
recourse.  A  year  afterwards,  in  Tehran,  while  lying  ill 
in  an  upper  room,  I  felt  a  curious  sensation,  like  the 
shaking  of  a  steamboat.  I  rushed  out  of  the  room,  down 
the  stairs ;  for  I  suspected  what  it  was,  and  feared  a  re- 
petition of  it.  There  was,  however,  only  one  shock  ;  and 
I  never  felt  any  other  during  my  stay  in  Persia. 

Though  fallen  from  its  high  estate,  even  now  Tabreez 
is  considered  one  of  the  finest  cities  in  Persia,  both  in 
population  and  wealth.  It  is  situated  at  the  end  of  a  large 
plain,  bounded  on  the  north  by  high  hills,  and  on  the 
south  at  some  miles  distant,  by  the  lake  Shahee.  The  in- 
habitants are  supposed  to  exceed  100,000  in  number  ;  but 
a  large  portion  live  in  suburbs  outside  the  walls.  The 
city  is  nearly  surrounded  by  immense  gardens  and  or- 
chards, producing  in  perfection  and  profusion  almost  all 
the  fruits  of  Southern  Europe,  particularly  melons  and 
grapes.  It  is  a  city  of  extensive  commerce,  being  the 
great  mart  between  Turkey,  Russia,  and  Central  Persia. 
The  extent  of  its  trade  may  be  appreciated  from  the  fact, 
that  English  goods  to  the  value  of  nearly  a  million  ster- 
ling are,  I  am  told,  annually  imported  within  its  walls ; 
whence  they  are  again  exported  to  Central  Persia,  Kho- 
rassan,  the  shores  of  the  Caspian,  to  the  Toorcomans,  and 
even  to  Khiva.  These  imports  consist  chiefly  of  Man- 
chester goods  and  cloth  ;  and  it  is  a  curious  circumstance 
that  a  very  large  portion  should  be  imported  to  Persia 
by  Greeks.  The  great  houses  of  commerce  are  chiefly 
Greek ;  and  from  some  sort  of  national  or  natural  im- 


92  TABREEZ.  CHAP.  VI. 

pulse  they  all  have  adopted  Russian  protection.  The 
most  remarkable  building  that  I  saw  in  Tabreez  was  an 
enormous  pile  of  brick,  some  seventy  feet  high,  situated  in 
what  is  called  the  Ark,  or  Citadel,  which  is  supposed  to 
be  exceedingly  ancient.  The  use  to  which  this  now  ruin- 
ous edifice  has^  been  lately  converted,  is  that  of  casting 
from  its  summit  women  who  have  been  guilty  of  the  mur- 
der of  their  husbands.  This  crime,  if  not  as  common,  or 
at  all  events  not  as  often  detected  as  in  England,  is  not 
unfrequent  in  Persia.  The  jealousies  and  animosities  of 
the  haram  often  drive  its  inmates  to  vengeance  by  means 
of  the  4<  Kahwa  e  Kajaree,"  the  Kajar's  coffee.  Kajar 
is  the  tribe-name  of  the  reigning  dynasty  ;  and  the  allusion 
is  to  the  poisoning  of  the  cup,  which  that  family  has  been 
accused  of  practising. 

One  scarcely  expects  to  meet  in  the  north  of  Persia  re- 
miniscences of  the  caliphs  of  Bagdad ;  yet  it  seems  that 
Tabreez  was  a  favourite  residence  of  our  old  acquaintance 
the  Commander  of  the  Faithful,  Haroun  al  Raschid,  or 
more  correctly  Haroon  ur  Rasheed,  who  sleeps  at  Meshed. 
On  leaving  Tabreez,  about  the  6th  of  November,  I  was 
shown,  not  far  from  the  gate,  the  ruins  of  a  once  beauti- 
ful mosque,  covered  and  faced  with  enamelled  azure, 
yellow,  and  black  tiles.  Tradition  ascribes  its  construc- 
tion to  Zobeida. 

Though  only  in  the  38th  degree  of  latitude,  the  cold  at 
Tabreez,  owing  to  its  elevation  above  the  sea,  is  intense  ; 
and  from  the  same  reason  the  heat  in  summer  is  temperate. 
Its  height  is  more  than  4500  feet ;  and  the  thermometer 
falls  to  15°  below  zero.  Add  to  this,  that  during  winter 
a  violent  wind  frequently  blows  from  the  north,  producing 


CHAP.  VI.  TABREEZ.  93 

a  degree  of  cold  which  deters  the  inhabitants  from  leaving 
their  houses,  and  causing  the  death  of  many  unfortunate 
travellers  who  fail  to  reach  a  place  of  refuge  at  night 
The  climate  is  healthy,  in  spite  of  the  cholera,  which 
often,  in  conjunction  with  the  plague,  makes  horrible 
ravages. 

This  reminds  me  of  a  curious  circumstance  which  I 
heard  relative  to  the  women  of  the  upper  classes  of 
Tabreez.  Instead  of  being  stricken  with  fear  at  the 
rumour  of  these  scourges,  these  capricious  ladies  hail  with 
glee  the  approach  of  cholera  or  plague,  which  to  them 
brings  freedom  and  release  from  monotony.  Wearied 
with  every-day  life,  they  joyfully  prepare  to  quit  the  city 
and  seek  refuge  in  the  yeilaks  (the  high  summer  moun- 
tain lands),  in  which  and  in  a  tent-life  all  Persians  delight. 
Here  there  is  comparative  freedom  from  restraint;  and 
here  the  ladies  of  Tabreez  enjoy  the  charms  of  listening  to 
purling  streams,  and  the  pleasure  of  eating  lamb  kebab 
(roast)  fresh  from  the  flock. 

It  surprises  one  to  find  oneself  in  almost  the  chief  city 
of  Persia,  and  yet  not  to  hear  a  word  of  Persian  spoken. 
In  the  streets  and  bazars  Turkish  is  the  only  language 
which  strikes  the  ear.  It  seems  to  be  exceedingly  rough 
and  uncouth.  By  way  of  illustrating  its  harshness  and 
fitness  for  command,  the  Persians  say  that  when  Adam 
was  doomed  to  quit  Paradise,  the  angel  Gabriel  conveyed 
the  commands  from  heaven  to  the  first  sinners  in  Persian, 
but  without  effect,  for  Adam  refused  to  obey.  Gabriel 
then  tried  Arabic,  Sanscrit,  and  all  other  languages  now 
known,  without  result,  till,  in  despair  and  in  ire,  he  roared 
out  in  Turkish  "  Kiopek  oghlee,  chik  boorden"  (Be  off, 


94  TURKISH  LANGUAGE.  CHAP.  VI. 

you  dog !),  on  which  Adam  scampered  off  without  farther 
delay.  Turkish  is  so  completely  the  colloquial  lan- 
guage of  Azerbijan,  that,  excepting  in  towns,  and  even 
there  only  among  the  better  classes,  Persian  is  not 
understood.  The  dialect  of  Turkish  used  in  Azerbi- 
jan is  not  very  unlike  that  spoken  at  Constantinople ; 
but  in  the  latter  city  the  pronunciation  has  been  so 
refined,  polished,  and  effeminated,  as  one  may  say — 
while  in  Persia  the  original  harsh,  vigorous  accent  has 
been  preserved — that  the  two  nations  are  scarcely  compre- 
hensible to  each  other.  Turkish,  I  found,  is  all  but  uni- 
versal in  Persia.  It  is  the  prevailing  language  to  within 
a  hundred  miles  of  Tehran,  as  far  as  Kasveen,  where  it 
is  as  constantly  employed  as  Persian.  At  court  Persian 
is  used  on  state  occasions ;  but  at  other  times  the  royal 
family,  amounting  to  two  or  three  thousand  princes  and 
princesses,  delight  in  the  tongue  which  their  forefathers 
brought  from  the  walls  of  China,  or  even  from  Pekin  ;  for 
there  is  a  tradition  that  the  tribe  of  Kajar,  like  the  valiant 
English  Varangians  in  Constantinople,  formed  the  body- 
guard of  the  sovereigns  of  the  Celestial  Empire.  The 
central  and  southern  parts  of  Persia  are  full  of  Toork 
tribes,  who  have  preserved  their  language.  In  the 
Caspian'provinces  of  Geelan  and  Mazenderan,  dialects  of 
Persian  are  the  prevailing  tongues.  The  mountaineers 
belonging  to  the  genuine  Persian  tribes  of  Koords 
and  Leks  still  preserve  their  native  idioms,  and  with 
the  above,  seem  to  be  the  only  inhabitants  of  Persia 
among  whom  the  Toork  invaders  have  failed  to  plant 
their  language. 

If  Chinese  be  the  most  extensively  written  language  in 


CHAP.  VI.  KARADAGH.  95 

the  world,  since  millions  speaking  different  dialects  are 
still  able  to  read  the  same  character,  it  may  be  difficult 
to  determine  whether  English,  Spanish,  or  Turkish  be 
the  most  diffused  orally  throughout  the  world.  From 
Belgrade  to  the  Wall  of  China,  the  traveller  who  is  master 
of  the  language  of  Toork  Yafet  oghlee — Toork,  the  son 
of  Japhet,  as  his  descendants  fondly  believe  him  to  be — 
need  be  at  no  loss.  With  varying  modifications,  he  will 
find  Turkish  throughout  that  vast  extent,  either  in  the 
soft  lisping  of  Constantinople,  or  in  the  rough  gutturals  of 
the  Toorkomans,  the  Uzbeks,  the  Kirghees,  or  the  roving 
Toork  tribes  of  Mongolia. 

Azerbijan,  of  which  Tabreez  is  the  capital,  is  the  most 
valuable  province  of  Persia,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  Russia  and  on  the  east  by  Turkey.  In  climate,  fer- 
tility of  the  soil,  population,  and  also,  I  hear,  in  the  military 
qualities,  the  vigour,  and  energy  of  the  inhabitants,  it  far 
excels  the  other  parts  of  Persia.  Its  surface  is  undulating 
and  intermingled  with  mountains  of  great  height,  which 
afford  a  cool  retreat  during  summer  to  the  wandering  and 
pastoral  tribes  with  which  the  province  abounds,  as  well 
as  to  their  flocks.  Unlike  most  other  parts  of  Persia, 
large  tracts  of  cultivated  land  are  dem,  or  unirrigated, 
the  necessary  moisture  being  derived  from  dews  or  occa- 
sional rain,  and  corn  is  produced  in  such  abundance  that  a 
large  quantity  is  annually  exported  to  Georgia,  which  is 
deficient  in  the  supply  of  that  grain.  Azerbijan  abounds 
also  in  mineral  wealth.  The  district  of  Karadagh  contains 
mines,  where  copper  and  iron  are  procurable  to  an  extent 
almost  unlimited.  The  iron  ore  is  in  some  places  so  pure, 
that  the  mountains  are  said  to  be  formed  of  that  substance. 


96  AZERBIJAN.  CHAP.  VI. 

Such  is  tlie  perversity  of  Persians,  that  with  copper  in  profu- 
sion at  their  own  doors,  it  is  only  lately  they  ceased  to  import 
that  mineral  from  Turkey.  Sir  Henry  Bethune  brought 
out  several  years  ago  a  steam-engine  and  a  number  of 
artificers  to  work  these  mines ;  but  everything  decays  in 
Persia,  and  so  too  has  this  undertaking.  Besides  Tabreez, 
Azerbijan  contains  several  considerable  towns,  such  as 
Ooroomeeya,  Khoce,  Ardebil,  Maragha,  where  Hoolakoo 
Khan,  the  grandson  of  Chengeez,  established  his  capital, 
and  constructed  a  famous  observatory.  The  inhabitants  are 
chiefly  Toorks,  and  are  supposed,  like  the  Turks,  to  be  the 
descendants  of  the  Seljookee  and  Mongolian  invaders.  The 
Russians  overran  this  province  in  the  last  war,  which  oc- 
curred thirty  years  ago.  All  the  chief  towns  were  in  their 
possession,  and  fortunately  for  Persia,  they  evacuated  it, 
but  only  on  the  payment  of  more  than  two  millions  ster- 
ling— a  heavy  disbursement  for  a  Persian  monarch.  I 
have  heard  that  Russian  officials  have  often  expressed  their 
regret  at  a  moderation,  as  they  termed  it,  proceeding  from 
their  ignorance.  They  did  not  then  know,  I  have  been 
told,  the  value  of  Azerbijan,  its  resources  in  corn,  and  the 
capacity  of  its  inhabitants  for  the  military  profession.  They 
forgot  that,  holding  this  province  in  their  hands,  Persia 
would  be  for  ever  cut  off  from  direct  communication  with 
Europe  ;  and  they  did  not  foresee  the  commerce  in  English 
and  other  European  merchandize,  which  a  few  years  later 
was  to  spring  up  and  attain  such  unexpected  proportions 
between  Constantinople  and  Trebizond,  and  which,  passing 
through  Erzeroom  and  Byazeed  to  Azerbijan,  would  under- 
sell their  manufactures  at  Asterabad  and  Meshed.  So 
jealous  is  Russia  of  this  intercourse  and  of  the  lucrative 


CHAP.  VI.  TRADE  WITH  PERSIA.  97 

transit  trade  carried  on  through  Turkey  with  such  profit 
to  the  latter  empire,  that  she  has  more  than  once  formed 
schemes  for  attracting  it  to  her  own  territory,  by  making 
Poti  and  Redout  Kaleh,  in  the  Black  Sea,  on  the  coast  of 
Mingrelia,  free  ports.  She  never  was  able  to  succeed  in 
this  plan.  Commerce  is  so  free  in  Turkey,  that  in  spite 
of  the  superior  safety  of  the  road  through  Georgia — in 
spite  of  the  danger  on  the  frontier  of  Turkey  and  Persia 
from  Koords  and  other  freebooters,  who  have  repeatedly 
pillaged  immense  caravans — in  spite  of  the  terrible  winter 
journey  from  Trebizond  to  Tabreez — the  Russian  Govern- 
ment has  never  been  able  to  induce  the  traders  to  subject 
themselves  to  the  vexations  inseparable  from  intercourse 
with  Russian  Custom-house  authorities. 


98  MODE  OF  TRAVELLING.  CHAP,  VII. 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

Mode  of  travelling  —  Village  houses  —  Economical  fires  —  Mephitic 
springs  —  Savalandagh  —  Shrine    of    a    prophet  —  Toorkomaiichall 

—  Snow  drift  —  Journeys  of  the  couriers  —  Struggles  through  the 
snow  —  The  "  Leopard's  Pass  "  —  Tribe  of  Shaheesevens  migrating 
• —  Sagacious  donkeys   and  hideous  old  women  —  Sultaneeya  and  its 
dome  —  Iljaiitoo  Khan  —  Mode  of  irrigation  in  Persia  —  Kasveen 

—  Our  host  —  The  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  —  Alamoot  —  Hunting 
Beat  of  Fetteh  Ali  Shah  —  Innumerable  family  of  that  monarch  — 
Hall  of  Audience  —  Agha  Mahommed  Khan  Kajjar  —  Plucking  out 
of  70,000  pairs  of  eyes  —  Waiting  for  good  luck  —  My  entry  into 
Tehran  —  Entry  of  Colonel  Shell. 

ON  the  5th  of  November  we  resumed  our  journey,  tra- 
velling by  easy  stages,  which,  with  a  diminution  of  fatigue, 
were  a  great  increase  of  ennui.  The  barren  hills  and  nearly 
equally  barren  plains  of  Persia  produce  a  most  somniferous 
effect  on  the  plodding  wayfarer,  particularly  if  he  travels, 
as  I  did,  in  a  carriage  at  a  walking  pace.  The  road 
was  described  to  be  excellent,  still  it  reduced  our  vehicle 
to  the  slowest  pace.  Even  this  was  preferable  to  the  ordi- 
nary mode  of  travelling  among  ladies,  shut  up  in  a  large 
box,  called  a  takhterewan,  suspended  between  two  mules, 
in  which  one  creeps  along  with  ambassadorial  dignity,  in 
a  way  that  put  one's  patience  to  a  severe  trial.  In  a 
mountainous  country  this  same  box  exposes  the  inmate  to 
some  danger  and  a  great  deal  of  terror.  On  a  narrow 
road,  with  a  deep  precipice  on  one  side  without  a  parapet, 
and  mules  that  neither  prayers,  blows,  nor  abuse  will 
remove  from  the  very  edge,  one  sees  the  box  hanging  over 
the  yawning  gulf,  and  the  occupant  dares  not  move  lest  the 


CHAP.  VII.  VILLAGE  HOUSES.  99 

balance  be  disturbed,  and  she  wilfully  seek  her  own  salva- 
tion before  due  time.  The  two  English  maids  were 
mounted  one  on  each  side  of  a  mule  in  the  two  small  boxes 
of  a  kajava,  where,  compressed  into  the  minutest  dimen- 
sions, they  balanced  each  other  and  sought  consolation  in 
mutual  commiseration  of  their  forlorn  fate  in  this  bar- 
barian land. 

I  doubt  if  our  hardships  will  excite  the  sympathy  they 
deserve.  We  rose  at  six,  shivering  5000  feet  above  the 
sea,  in  an  Azerbijan  village  room,  quite  comfortless,  at 
that  hour  at  all  events,  and  crawled  along  until  ten,  when 
"we  found  ready  for  us,  pitched  near  a  stream  in  some  quiet 
nook,  a  very  small  tent,  called  an  aftabgerdan,  or  sun- 
turner,  in  which  denomination  correctness  has  been  sacri- 
ficed to  conciseness,  as  it  is  the  tent  which  turns  round  to 
catch  or  exclude  the  sun's  rays,  according  to  the  season. 
Here,  seated  on  the  ground,  we  had  breakfast,  and  were 
warmed  into  life  and  consciousness  by  that  genuine  friend 
of  mankind,  whether  the  thermometer  be  at  20°  or  120°, 
hot  tea.  When  the  horses  of  our  numerous  party  were 
rested,  we  continued  our  journey  until  evening,  and  passed 
the  night  at  a  village  house,  to  which  our  bedding  had 
previously  been  carried,  and  then  spread  on  the  ground. 
From  the  time  I  entered  Persia  until  I  quitted  it,  the 
ground,  whether  in  house  or  in  tent,  was  my  bedstead. 
This  is  the  universal  practice  of  the  country,  and,  ex- 
cepting that  it  affords  no  protection  from  scorpions,  centi- 
pedes, and  tarantulas,  it  is  to  be  recommended.  Nervous 
people  take  various  precautions  against  these  unwelcome 
visitors.  I  knew  a  foreign  young  lady,  who  had  a.  Cossack, 
sword  in  hand,  keeping  watch  all  night  in  her  room,  ready 

F  2 


100  ECONOMICAL  FIRES.  CHAP.  VII. 

to  slay  the  invaders.  The  bed  tied  up  into  a  bundle,  with 
a  gaudy  silk  cover  during  the  day,  makes  an  excellent  sofa 
in  the  corner  of  a  tent.  These  houses  are  often  good,  but 
sometimes  exceedingly  disagreeable  from  the  miscellaneous 
nature  of  the  occupants.  A  thriving  Persian  village  can, 
however,  generally  supply  a  tenement  by  no  means  to 
be  contemned.  The  principal  room  where  the  family 
resides  is  carpeted  with  felts ;  a  high  pile  of  bedding, 
tied  into  bundles,  occupies  one  corner,  while  another  corner 
contains  chests  or  immense  jars,  such  as  the  "  forty  thieves" 
found  a  shelter  in,  filled  with  grain,  peas,  or  beans. 
Strings  of  apricots,  grapes,  and  onions  hang  in  festoons 
from  the  ceiling ;  shelves  are  cut  into  the  earthen  walls, 
on  which  are  placed  stores  of  quinces,  apples,  pears,  and 
melons,  besides  sundry  cups  and  saucers,  with,  if  possible, 
a  few  decanters  and  tumblers  of  coarse  Russian  glass, 
which  form  the  pride  of  the  family ;  one  end  of  the  room 
is  occupied  by  a  fireplace,  over  which  are  hung  inscrip- 
tions containing  quotations  from  the  Koran,  or  from  some 
of  the  Persian  poets.  Altogether  there  is  a  considerable 
air  of  substantial  comfort  in  these  houses,  which  I  often 
envied  for  our  countrymen.  Sometimes  these  fireplaces 
were  constructed  on  principles  so  anti-Rumfordian,  that 
we  were  forced  to  have  recourse  to  the  Persian  economical 
substitute  for  a  fire  in  a  grate,  called  a  koorsee,  and  a  very 
comfortable  resource  it  is.  A  small  quantity  of  charcoal, 
well  burnt  to  remove  its  deleterious  effects,  is  placed  on  a 
flat  copper  dish ;  this  is  covered  with  a  large  wooden  frame, 
open  at  the  sides,  two  feet  high,  over  which  a  large  wadded 
quilt  is  spread,  to  exclude  the  cold  air  and  prevent  the 
escape  of  the  warmth  inside.  The  family  sits  round  the 


i-ii.vi'.  VII.  MEPHITIC  SPRINGS.  101 

koorsee  with  the  legs  and  arms  under  the  quilt,  where  the 
heat  is  considerable.  I  have  often  wished  our  soldiers  at 
Sebastopol,  during  the  memorable  winter,  could  have  pro- 
cured this  simple  manner  of  protecting  themselves  from 
cold.  Once  when  travelling  alone  during  winter,  my  hus- 
band was  seized  with  acute  illness,  which  forced  him  to 
take  refuge  in  a  village,  where  a  barber  gave  him  a  lodging. 
He  passed  the  cold  and  painful  night  reclining  under  a 
koorsee,  the  opposite  side  of  which  was  occupied  by  the 
loudly  snoring,  friendly  barber.  The  whole  family,  in  a 
Persian  household,  passes  the  winter  nights  in  this  manner ; 
but  sometimes  an  unlucky  wight  gets  his  head  under  the 
quilt,  and  wakes  no  more. 

The  second  day  from  Tabreez  we  crossed  the  pass  of 
Shiblee,  near  which  are  some  caverns  containing  springs, 
still  more  mephitic  than  those  of  canine  reputation  at 
Lago  Lugano,  near  Naples.  Descending  the  pass  we 
entered  the  extensive  plain  of  Oojan,  the  Champs  de  Mars 
of  Persia,  where  formerly  the  Persians  used  to  receive  in- 
struction in  military  manoeuvres.  On  the  left  lay  a  very 
rugged  range  of  mountains,  called  Booz  Koosh,  or  Goat- 
killer,  separating  us  from  the  valley  of  Serab,  remarkable 
for  its  mineral  hot-springs,  efficacious,  if  we  are  to  confide 
in  local  belief,  in  curing  all  the  ailments  of  humanity. 
Overhanging  this  valley  is  a  famous  mountain,  called 
Savalandagh,  reputed  to  be  one  of  the  highest  mountains 
in  Persia.  In  the  earlier  part  of  his  career  in  this  country 
my  husband  was  quartered  in  this  valley  (C.),  and  from  him 
I  learned  the  following  particulars  concerning  the  above 
mountain.  Its  slopes  on  the  northern  side  are  frequented 
in  spring  and  summer  by  the  large  wandering  Toork  tribe 


102  SAVALAX  DAGH.  CiiAr.  VII. 

of  Shaheesevens  (Shah's  friends).  In  winter  they  pitch  their 
tents  in  the  flat,  sultry,  but  luxuriant  plains  of  Moghan, 
now  belonging  to  Russia.  This  district  is  reputed  to  have 
been  traversed  by  Porapey,  whose  army  was  so  infested  by 
snakes  as  to  be  forced  to  move  their  camp  from  these 
prairies.  It  is  reported  by  the  Persians  that  at  the  present 
day  these  plains  are  filled  during  summer  with  snakes, 
scorpions,  and  other  reptiles,  which,  added  to  the  noxious 
climate  at  that  season,  render  them  uninhabitable. 

Savalan  Dagh,  or  mountain,  is  remarkable  for  contain- 
ing at  its  summit  the  remains  of  a  Mussulman  pyghamber, 
or  prophet,  which  lie  ma  small  grotto  exposed  to  the  view 
of  pilgrims.  As  tho  top  of  Savalan  is  above  the  line  of 
perpetual  congelation,  his  saintship  has  been  miraculously 
preserved  whole  and  entire,  face,  features,  and  beard,  to 
the  admiring  gaze  of  his  devotees.  On  my  husband's 
asking  a  moolla  how  and  when  the  pyghamber  had 
reached  his  elevated  sepulchre,  he  replied  that  tradition 
had  preserved  no  record  on  the  former  point,  but  that  it 
was  known  he  was  a  prophet  subsequent  to  the  "  Lord 
Mahommed."  It  was  retorted  that  the  moolla  was  talking 
koofr,  infidelity — it  being  a  precept  of  the  Mussulmans 
that  Mahommed  was  the  completion  of  all  the  prophets, 
and  that  none  could  succeed  him.  "  That  is  true,"  said 
the  moolla,  in  some  confusion  that  his  divinity  should 
undergo  correction  from  a  Feringhee. 

On  the  fourth  day  we  reached  Toorkomanchaee,  a 
village  showing  every  sign  of  prosperity,  owing  to  its 
good  fortune  in  having  constantly  become  the  property  of 
each  successive  holder  of  the  grand-vezeership,  and  being 
thereby  saved  from  the  encroachments  of  troops  marching 


CHAP.  VII.  TOORKOMANCHAEE.  lt>S 

to  and  from  the  capital,  to  which  the  other  villages  on  the 
high  road  are  subject,  and  also  exempt  from  the  exactions 
of  travellers  with  orders  of  seeoorsat,  meaning  an  allowance 
of  provisions  and  fodder.  This  is  one  of  the  most  harass- 
ing, and  probably  one  of  the  most  ancient  abuses  to  which 
Persians  are  subject.  A  man  of  rank  travelling,  or  a 
governor  proceeding  to  his  post,  receives  an  order  entitling 
his  numerous  retinue  to  be  supplied  with  provisions  of  all 
kinds,  for  which  not  a  fraction  is  paid.  Double  the 
quantity  required  is  demanded,  as  well  as  a  variety  of 
articles  which  the  unfortunate  villagers  never  heard  of, 
and  which,  to  use  their  own  phrase,  *'  their  grandfathers 
never  saw  in  a  dream  " — such  as  saffron,  tea,  cloves,  cin- 
namon, &c.  A  compromise  in  money  is  generally  made, 
and  his  excellency  departs  satisfied.'  It  used  to  be  the 
practice  to  grant  seeoortat  to  all  foreign  missions  proceed- 
ing to  the  Court ;  but  the  hardship  it  entailed  on  the  vil- 
lagers, and  the  odium  and  bitter  feelings  it  excited,  were 
so  obvious,  that  the  practice  has  ceased  as  far  as  the  Eng- 
lish mission  is  concerned. 

At  Toorkomanchaee  we  lived  in  a  house  outside  the 
village,  which  brought  to  mind  associations  of  a  mournful 
character.  Here  it  was  that  Persia  was  crushed  by  Russia. 
In  this  house,  built  expressly  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  Russian  representative,  was  signed  the  treaty  which, 
twenty-eight  years  ago,  concluded  the  last  war  between 
Russia  and  Persia.  (D.) 

The  house  consisted  of  two  small  rooms  opposite  to  each 
other,  in  one  of  which  I  was  told  resided  the  Russian 
plenipotentiary,  and  in  the  other  his  Persian  colleague. 
The  latter  was  occupied  by  our  two  women  servants,  and 


104  PERSIAN  COURIERS.  -  CHAP.  VII 

was  constructed  with  such  attention  to  comfort  that  the 
sky  was  visible  up  the  chimney. 

We  had  made  preparation  for  a  long  march,  as  it  was 
called,  next  day  ;  but  during  the  night  so  violent  a  storm 
of  snow  arose,  accompanied  by  a  booran,  that  movement 
was  impracticable.  A  booran  in  the  north  of  Persia  is  a 
terrible  thing.  It  is  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  with  a  violent 
wind,  causing  a  drift  which  blinds  the  traveller,  and  effec- 
tually conceals  the  road.  Many  lives  are  lost  each  winter 
in  this  way.  I  have  heard  of  several  instances  where  the 
benumbed  and  wayworn  traveller  was  saved  only  by  the 
barking  of  a  dog,  the  bleating  of  a  sheep,  or  the  tinkling 
of  a  mule  bell,  when  he  was  on  the  point  of  yielding  to  his 
fate,  not  knowing  he  was  within  reach  of  aid. 

It  must  be  a  fearful  thing  to  be  caught  in  a  desolate 
plain  or  mountain  side  by  one  of  these  awful  storms,  no 
place  of  refuge  near,  the  thermometer  at  10°  or  20° 
below  zero,  and  the  howling  blast  piercing  to  the  vitals. 
I  have  often  thought  with  pity  and  surprise  of  the  Persian 
couriers  of  the  mission,  and  their  wonderful  journeys  to 
Erzeroom.  One  of  them  presents  himself  in  the  month  of 
January,  muffled  in  sheepskin  coat  and  cap,  receives  his 
bags,  and  goes  forth  alone  on  his  terrible  journey  of  nearly 
800  miles ;  and  after  a  rest  of  perhaps  two  days  at  Erze- 
room, returns  again,  worn  out  by  fatigue  and  want  of 
sleep,  nearly  blind,  and  "burnt  by  the  snow,"  as  the 
expressive  phrase  is  in  Persian.  Woe  betide  him  if  he 
cannot  show  good  reasons  for  having  been  more  than  ten 
days  in  performing  the  trip  each  way.  As  the  post-horses 
are  miserable,  this  can  only  be  done  by  being  almost  con- 
stantly on  horseback,  and  by  sleeping  in  this  position, 


CHAP.  VII.  PERSIAN  COURIERS.  105 

which  I  am  told  that  even  English  travellers  by  chaperee, 
as  it  is  called,  soon  acquire  the  habit  of  doing.  Some  of 
these  mission  couriers  make  extraordinary  journeys.  One 
of  them,  named  Malik  Mahommed  Beg,  used  frequently 
to  perform  the  800  miles  in  seven  days.  It  is  only  by 
being  exceedingly  weather-wise,  and  knowing  the  symp- 
toms of  an  approaching  booran,  that  these  men  are  able  to 
escape  the  dangers  of  a  winter  journey.  With  all  this 
risk  their  pay  is  small,  not  exceeding  407.  a-year.  There 
are,  however,  a  few  illicit  gains,  which  a  Persian  loves  so 
dearly,  in  the  shape  of  traffic  in  small  portable  objects 
between  Persia  and  Turkey.  In  Persia  very  hard  riding 
is  universal.  Sir  John  M'Neill,  I  have  heard,  once  rode 
from  Tehran  to  Ispahan,  260  miles,  in  three  days,  on  the 
same  horse,  a  pony  which  cost  10/.  On  another  occasion 
he  rode  400  miles,  from  Tehran  to  Tabreez,  in  four 
days,  on  post-horses.  But  an  English  sergeant  surpassed 
her  Majesty's  Minister ;  having  performed  the  same 
distance  in  less  than  three  days. 

To  return  to  my  itinerary.  The  succeeding  morning 
brought  us  a  genuine  Persian  winter  day,  cold,  cloudless, 
bright,  but  the  quantity  of  snow  seemed  to  preclude  all 
hope  of  moving  the  carriage.  The  mehmandar,  however, 
swore  all  the  oaths  ever  on  the  lips  of  a  Persian,  that 
move  we  should,  and  move  we  did.  A  Persian  is  per- 
petually swearing,  either  by  the  Almighty  or  the  Prophet, 
or  Ali  or  Hoossein,  or  his  beard,  or  his  or  your  life  or 
death.  The  women  are  as  profane  and  emphatic  in  their 
discourse  as  the  other  sex.  A  favourite  and  amusing 
mode  of  asseveration  among  the  syeds,  especially  in  testi- 
fying to  an  untruth,  is  "  Beh  ser  c  jeddam  "  (by  the  head 

F  3 


106  THE  LEOPAED'S  PASS.  CHAP.  VII. 

of  my  grandfather),  meaning  Mahommed  ;  indeed  it  is  a 
common  adage  that  the  greatest  swearers  are  the  greatest 
liars.  On  the  present  occasion,  luckily  for  us,  our  meh- 
mandar  reversed  this  popular  saying ;  and  it  was  amusing 
to  see  the  struggles  of  himself  and  his  attendants  to  get 
us  through  the  deep  snow.  He  sprang  off  his  horse,  and 
insisted  on  yoking  him  to  the  carnage,  and  the  good  steed, 
so  docile  are  the  Persian  horses,  immediately  began  to  pull 
with  the  utmost  goodwill,  though  in  the  course  of  his 
existence  he  had  never  before  seen  such  a  machine.  The 
cold  was  intense ;  the  long  beards  and  moustaches  of  the 
Persians  were  frozen,  and  looked  as  white  as  the  snow. 
Long  after  dark  we  reached  the  village  of  Khoosh  Boolak, 
where  we  were  glad  to  warm  and  rest  ourselves  after  an 
anxious,  toilsome  day.  Two  days  later  we  reached 
Meeana,  famous,  or  infamous,  for  its  bugs — a  bite  from 
one  of  which  kills  with  the  slow  lingering  death,  such  as 
husbands  and  wives  in  England  love  mutually  to  impart. 
We  spent  half  the  night  in  precautions  against  a  danger, 
which  many  attribute  to  fever,  indigenous  to  this  unwhole- 
some place.  That  morning  we  crossed  the  high  pass  of 
Kaplan  Kooh,  the  Leopard's  Mountain,  from  the  summit 
of  which  we  had  a  far-reaching  view  of  the  provinces  of 
Azerbijan  and  Irak,  of  which  the  Leopard  is  the  boundary. 
The  narrowness  of  the  road  over  the  pass  raised  some 
doubt  if  the  carriage  could  be  got  across  without  being 
taken  off  the  wheels,  so  I  took  refuge  in  my  takhterewan. 
Near  the  top,  on  looking  down  the  precipice  over  which 
I  hung,  I  saw  the  remains  of  dead  horses  who  had  slipped 
into  the  abyss;  this  was  so  discouraging,  that  I  kept  my 
eyes  shut  until  we  reached  a  kind  of  shelter  at  the  summit. 


CHAP.  VII.  TRIBE  OF  SHAHEESEVENS.  107 

Two  days  more  brought  us  to  the  town  of  Zenjan,  of 
which  I  remember  nothing  remarkable,  excepting  the 
prodigious  size  of  its  onions,  far  exceeding  anything  pro- 
duced in  Spain  or  Portugal.  But  all  Persian  towns  are 
alike ;  all  built  of  unburnt,  unpainted  brick,  all  window- 
less,  and  all  in  a  state  of  decay.  The  only  difference 
among  them  is,  that  one  has  a  fine  old  mosque,  which 
another  has  not. 

Nov.  12th. — Our  road  to-day  was  enlivened  by  a  large 
party  of  Shaheesevens,  with  their  families,  their  flocks  and 
their  herds,  and  all  their  worldly  goods,  migrating  from  1 
know  not  where,  to  the  plains  of  Moghan,  north  of  Arde- 
bil,  before  alluded  to ;  where  a  temperate  climate  and 
luxuriant  pastures  invited  these  dwellers  in  tents  to  pass 
the  winter.  There  were  camels,  horses,  asses,  sheep, 
cattle,  cats,  dogs,  men,  women,  and  children.  The  camels 
numbered  at  least  one  hundred,  and  carried  the  heavy 
baggage,  consisting  of  the  tents  and  cooking  utensils.  The 
greater  part  of  the  men  were  mounted  either  on  horseback 
or  on  camels ;  but  many  of  the  women  were  on  foot, 
attended  by  their  large  shaggy  dogs,  the  faithful  guardians 
of  the  camp  at  night.  According  to  the  general  custom 
of  the  eelyat  women,  their  faces  were  uncovered,  and 
they  looked  with  a  careless  indifference,  equal  to  that  of 
Europeans,  at  our  cavalcade.  The  only  individuals  who 
seemed  to  think  that  our  party  formed  an  unusual  sight, 
were  the  donkeys,  who  invariably  stopped  and  turned 
round  to  gaze  after  the  strangers  and  their  novel  equi- 
page, showing  how  much  calumniated  are  their  intellect 
and  sagacity.  Few,  very  few  among  the  women,  even  the 
most  youthful,  had  any  claim  to  beauty ;  exposure  and 


108  NOMAD  LIFE.  CHAP.  VII. 

severe  labour  Having  wholly  effaced  the  delicacy  of  features 
which  nature  intended  to  he  comely.  The  middle-aged 
women  were  exceedingly  ugly,  and  those  of  advanced 
years  hideous.  The  Shaheesevens  are  wealthy,  and  they 
exhibited  eelyat  life  under  a  favourable  aspect;  but 
among  less  fortunate  tribes  it  is  far  otherwise. 

In  England  our  associations  with  wanderers  in  tents  are 
full  of  romance  and  ideality  ;  we  dream  of  pastoral  life, 
flocks  and  herds,  and  amiable  shepherds — Abraham  and 
Isaac  waiting  for  angels'  visits — Esau,  Rebecca,  and  Ruth. 
The  reality  is  very  different.  In  the  mountains  near 
Tehran  I  often  passed  close  to  small  eelyat  encamp- 
ments, and  I  saw  enough  to  cure  me  of  any  fancies  and 
dreams  I  may  have  formerly  cherished.  Squalor  and  dirt 
were  the  general  characteristics  of  the  inmates  of  these 
oolooses,  or  camps.  The  women  were  in  rags,  haggard 
and  careworn  ;  the  children  emaciated  from  want  of 
nourishment.  Among  the  wealthy  tribes,  and  among 
the  Koords  and  Toorkomans,  no  doubt  it  is  often  other- 
wise. The  tent  life,  with  its  freedom  and  independence, 
must  have  its  charms :  but  in  Persia  the  wealthy  tribes 
are  the  exception.  The  Toork  wandering  tribes  are  often 
rich ;  but  those  of  real  Persian  descent,  the  Loors,  Bekh- 
tiarees,  Mafees,  and  Nana  Kellees,  are  extremely  poor. 

After  leaving  Zenjan,  we  entered  the  high  and  extensive 
plain  of  Sultaneeya,  famous  for  its  pastures,  and  conse- 
quently most  attractive  to  the  eelyats  (tribes)  with  which 
it  is  crowded  in  spring.  The  cold  here  in  winter  is 
described  to  be  intense.  The  village  of  Sultaneeya,  at 
which  we  passed  the  night,  was  once  a  great  capital, 
founded,  or  at  all  events  embellished,  by  Iljaetoo  Khan, 


CHAP.  VII.  KASVEEX.  109 

a  descendant  of  Chengeez,  who  ruled  Persia  about  A.D.  / 
1300.  A  splendid  mosque,  said  to  be  that  monarch's  : 
mausoleum,  with  a  wonderful  dome  supposed  to  be  nearly 
150  feet  in  height,  and  50  or  GO  feet  in  diameter,  is  the 
only  edifice  left  to  attest  the  greatness  of  Sultaneeya. 
This  city  is  reported  to  have  been  ruined  by  the  sudden 
disappearance  of  water,  caused  doubtless  by  an  earth- 
quake, which  forced  the  inhabitants  to  migrate.  In  evi- 
dence of  the  grandeur  of  Sultaneeya,  I  forget  how  many 
hundred  or  thousand  Kajavas,  the  Persians  declare,  left 
the  city  in  one  day. 

We  were  now  sensibly  descending  from  the  high  eleva- 
tion of  Azerbijan.  The  air  was  becoming  mild  and  warm 
as  we  approached  the  city  of  Kasveen,  on  the  16th  of 
November.  This  town  presents  the  remains  of  ancient, 
worn-out  greatness ;  and  one  sees  there,  as  elsewhere  in 
Persia,  considerable  tracts  with  scanty  population ;  ex- 
tensive bazars  without  goods  or  traffickers ;  fine  mosques 
and  palaces  in  ruin  or  decay.  This  at  one  time  was  one 
of  the  many  capitals  of  Persia.  Each  dynasty,  as  it  suc- 
ceeded to  the  kingdom,  seems  to  have  selected  a  special 
town  as  its  residence.  After  seeing  Tehran,  which  has 
not  a  single  point  to  recommend  it,  I  frequently  regretted 
that  Kasveen  had  not  been  approved  of  by  the  Kajars  as 
their  capital.  It  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
leading  to  Geelan  and  the  Caspian,  and  at  the  extremity 
of  a  fine  plain  that  wants  only  water  and  population  to 
make  it  a  garden  of  fertility.  It  is  the  land  of  grapes, 
which  in  profusion,  variety,  and  flavour,  are  unsurpassed. 

Persia  may  be  said  to  have  neither  rivers  nor  streams ; 
rain  also  being  scanty,  it  was  necessary  to  invent  some 
means  of  irrigation.  This  has  been  done  with  great  in- 


110  MODE  OF  IRRIGATION.  CHAP.  VII. 

genuity.  The  vast  plain  of  Kasveen  has  been  intersected 
in  all  directions  with  kanats,  extending  miles  upon  miles. 
A  kanat  may  be  called  a  subterranean  aqueduct,  and  is  a 
succession  of  wells,  beginning  in  the  mountains,  and  con- 
ducted the  required  distance  into  the  plains,  sometimes 
for  thirty  or  forty  miles.  To  say  the  truth,  I  have  never 
been  able  thoroughly  to  understand  the  system,  but  I  will 
write  down  all  I  have  heard  about  it.  A  shaft  or  well  is 
sunk  on  the  skirt  of  a  mountain  until  a  spring  is  reached. 
A  subterranean  channel,  often  from  thirty  to  forty  feet 
beneath  the  surface,  is  dug  in  the  direction  of  the  plain, 
into  which  the  water  of  the  spring,  with  that  of  as  many 
other  springs  as  possible,  is  collected.  At  fifteen  or 
twenty  yards  distance  another  shaft  is  sunk,  and  thus  the 
channel  and  shafts  are  continued  to  the  desired  point  by 
a  system  of  levelling  which,  if  not  conducted  on  scientific 
principles,  is  said  to  be  practically  correct.  The  use  of 
the  shafts  is  to  clear  out  the  channel  from  time  to  time. 
The  expense  of  this  method  of  cultivation,  and  the 
value  of  water  in  the  Shah's  dominions,  may  be  con- 
ceived. Yet  all  Persia  is  covered  with  the  remains 
of  kanats,  which  war  and  bad  government  have  brought 
to  decay. 

Happily  for  the  dry  climate  of  Persia,  the  construction 
of  kanats  has  been  made  one  of  the  passports  to  paradise 
for  pious  Mussulmans.  Nothing  is  more  meritorious  than 
to  conduct  a  stream  of  water  into  a  town,  where,  in  sum- 
mer, the  poorer  part  of  the  population  suffers  great 
distress  from  drought.  A  Persian  who  has  spent  his  life 
in  peculation,  or  in  amassing  wealth  by  interest  at  100 
per  cent.,  or  even  200  at  times,  when  his  days  are  closing, 
resolves  to  win  heaven  and  a  good  reputation  by  relieving 


CHAP.  VII.  A  SWINDLER  MERCHANT.  Ill 

the  thirst  of  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  above  way.  To 
make  as  sure  as  he  can  of  his  kanat,  and  save  it  from 
embezzlement,  he  calls  the  church  to  his  aid,  and  puts  it 
under  the  protection  of  some  holy  moolla,  by  declaring  it 
waqf ;  that  is,  it  becomes  an  offering  to  God,  and  cannot 
be  sold  or  "eaten" — at  least  it  ought  not  to  be  eaten; 
but  all  his  precautions  are  often  useless  in  saving  his 
kanat  from  this  gastronomic  process.  Do  what  he  will, 
he  cannot  prevent  his  patent  for  paradise  from  becoming 
the  cause  of  various  broken  heads.  The  droughty  denizens 
fight  bitterly  for  its  possession. 

At  Kasveen  we  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  wealthy  mer- 
chant. In  any  other  country  this  man  would  have  been 
spurned  as  a  swindler ;  here  he  holds  a  high  position 
in  the  mercantile  world  and  at  court.  A  Georgian 
youth,  captured  at  the  sack  of  Tiflis  sixty  years  ago, 
had  risen  to  the  highest  appointments  in  Persia,  and 
had  amassed  great  wealth,  which,  as  a  slave  belonging 
to  the  king,  should,  at  his  death,  have  been  inherited  by 
the  Shah.  He,  wishing  to  bequeath  it  to  his  relations, 
secretly  deposited  with  this  merchant  a  large  sum  of 
money.  At  his  death,  this  person  presented  himself  to 
the  Prime  Minister,  and,  with  protestations  of  loyalty  and 
devotion,  announced  that  30,000  tomans  (about  15,000/.) 
were  in  his  hands,  which  he  would  immediately  pay  to 
the  Shah.  It  was  not  doubted  that  this  was  a  plan  to 
retain  for  himself  another  30,000  tomans. 

Continuing  our  journey  to  the  East  through  the  plain 
of  Kasveen,  which  at  other  seasons  is  covered  with  the 
tents  of  eelyats,  on  our  left  hand  lay  the  range  of  El- 
boorz.  These  mountains  concealed  from  our  view  a 


112  THE  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN.      CHAP.  VII. 

remarkable  place,  no  less  than  Alamoot,  the  castle  of 
Hassan  Sabah,  the  redoubted  chief  of  the  Assassins, 
popularly  called  the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain,  from 
his  Arabic  designation  of  Sheikh  el  Jebbal,  who,  about 
the  year  1060,  founded  a  religion  which  appears  to  have 
borne  some  resemblance  to  modern  Babeeism.  To  the 
novices,  a  creed  not  very  different  from  Mahommedanism, 
of  which  the  forms  were  strictly  preserved,  was  inculcated  ; 
while  to  the  initiated  was  made  known  the  real  doctrine, 
that  all  is  nought,  illusion,  emptiness. 

Hassan  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety,  and  died  peaceably  in 
his  bed,  which  he  had  allowed  very  few  of  his  enemies  to 
do.  After  capturing  Alamoot,  for  thirty-five  years  he 
never  left  that  fortress,  and  twice  only  did  he  move  from 
the  chamber  whence  issued  his  mandates  of  death.  He 
executed  two  of  his  sons  —  one  for  the  insignificant 
offence  of  drinking  wine.  One  of  his  first  victims,  when 
he  began  his  career  of  murder,  was  Nassr-ood-deen,  the 
famous  vezeer  of  Alp  Arselan  and  Malek  Shah,  the  two 
great  monarchs  of  the  Seljookee  race.  Hassan  Sabah 
was  born  at  Rei,  near  Tehran,  and  studied  at  Nishaboor, 
where  one  of  his  college  companions  was  Nassr-ood-deen. 
They  made  a  compact  that  the  first  to  attain  greatness 
should  befriend  the  other.  After  a  long  course  of  years, 
Nassr-ood-deen  became  Grand  Vezeer.  Hassan  pro- 
ceeded to  court,  and  upbraided  him  with  his  breach  of 
promise.  The  other  acknowledged  his  friend's  claim,  and 
in  a  short  time  his  great  talents  raised  him  to  high  favour 
with  Malek  Shah  ;  when,  according  to  the  usage  of  Per- 
sians, he  tried  every  art  to  subvert  his  patron.  The  king 
having  demanded  an  account  of  the  revenue  of  his  empire, 


CHAP.  VII.  THE  ASSASSINS.  113 

Nassr-ood-deen  required  more  than  a  year  to  prepare  it. 
Hassan  Sebah  immediately  offered  to  furnish  tie  account 
in  forty  days.     He  kept  his  promise  ;  but  at  the  critical 
moment  of  examination  several  sheets  were  found  wanting, 
and  he  was  dismissed  in  disgrace.     He  then  wandered  to 
Egypt,  where  he  first  imhihed  his  doctrines.     Nassr-ood- 
deen  is  supposed  to  have  abstracted  the  missing  sheets, 
in   order    to   bring    disgrace    on   his    ungrateful   rival. 
For   nearly   two  centuries   Hassan  and  his  descendants 
maintained  their  independence  and  rule  in  their  mountain 
fortress,  seizing  other  castles  of  the  same  description  in 
the  hill  ranges  of  Persia  and  Palestine,  and  spreading 
their  doctrine  and  their  supremacy  by  the  daggers  of  his 
Fedwees,  or  disciples,  which  they  wielded  without  remorse. 
Von  Hammer  describes   these  sectaries,   and    they   are 
familiar  to  most  readers  in    'The  Crusaders.'      Sultan 
Sanjar,   one   of   the   Seljookee   monarchs,   led  an  army 
towards  Alamoot  to  exterminate  this  band  of  Assassins. 
Awaking  one  morning,  he  found  a  dagger  plunged  to  the 
hilt  in  the  earth  by  his  bedside,  with  a  scroll  on  it  telling 
him   to   beware,  else   next   time  the   dagger  would  be 
sheathed   in   his   breast.      Sultan    Sanjar   then  retired. 
Hoolakoo  Khan  was  made  of  sterner  stuff.     About  A.D. 
1250  he  captured  Alamoot,  and  slew  thousands  of  the 
Assassins,   or   Ismaelees,  as   they  are  otherwise  called. 
Their  former  appellation  is  supposed  to  be  derived  either 
from  the  name  of  their  founder  Hassan,  or  from  the  word 
hashish,  said  to  be  a  preparation  from  hemp,  of  highly 
intoxicating  power,  which  was  drunk  by  the  Fedwees  pre- 
viously to  the  execution  of  the  orders  of  their  chief,  to 
slay.     The  "  Lords  of  Wrath,"  or  Meerghazabs  of  the 


114  ALAMOOT.  CHAP.  VII. 

Shah,  as  the  executioners  about  the  Shah's  person  are 
called,  are  said  to  use  chers,  or  bang,  a  preparation  of 
the  same  description,  in  the  performance  of  their  vocation 
of  extracting  eyes,  strangling,  and  cutting  throats. 

Several  years  ago  my  husband  paid  a  visit  to  Alamoot, 
which  proved  to  be  a  high  solitary  rock,  in  the  midst  of  a 
valley  surrounded  by  lofty  mountains.  With  great  dif- 
ficulty and  some  danger  he  and  his  companions  ascended 
to  the  top,  where  they  found  only  a  few  insignificant  build- 
ings, and  some  cisterns  for  containing  water.  One  side 
of  the  rock  down  to  the  valley  beneath,  was  smooth  and 
abrupt.  It  was  hence  doubtless  the  Fedwees  used  to 
precipitate  themselves  to  evince  their  obedience  to  the 
mandates  of  the  Sheikh  of  the  Mountain.  The  stay  of 
the  party  at  the  top  was  short,  so  nervously  eager  were 
they  to  face  and  get  over  the  danger  of  the  return  descent. 
Passing  one  very  bad  spot  several  yards  in  length,  the  heart 
of  one  of  the  party  somewhat  failed  him,  so  he  bestrided 
the  shoulders  of  a  mountaineer ;  but,  when  half  way,  he 
found  himself  overhanging  a  precipice  of  several  hundred 
feet,  with  a  path  of  a  few  inches  wide,  and  the  hill  man 
tottering  beneath  him. 

Proceeding  through  the  level  and  cheerful  plain  of 
Kasveen,  we  arrived  in  a  few  days  at  Suleimaneeya, 
which  afforded  us  a  prospect  of  the  speedy  termination  of 
our  long  journey.  Latterly  it  had  been  constantly  enlivened 
by  arrivals  from  Tehran  of  friends  and  acquaintances, 
expectants  of  countenance ;  and  numbers  of  strangers, 
whose  affairs  at  court  under  the  new  reign  were  in  a 
languishing  condition,  and  who  sought  to  prop  them  up  by 
propitiating  the  new  comer.  Lambs,  fruits,  and  sugarcandy, 


CHAP.  VII.  SULEIMANEEYA.  115 

the  usual  offerings  on  such  occasions,  flowed  in  to  super- 
fluity, to  the  great  delight  of  the  array  of  Persian  servants 
by  whom  we  were  surrounded,  though  certainly  not  served. 
Suleimaneeya  is  an  extensive  palace  or  hunting-seat,  built 
by  the  present  king's  great-grandfather,  Fetteh  AH  Shah. 
It  contains  courts  and  apartments  innumerable  for  lodging 
the  ample  haram  of  that  monarch,  who  seems  to  have 
made  Solomon  his  prototype.  The  number  of  the  inmates 
of  the  anderoon  belonging  to  this  sovereign  is  estimated 
at  several  hundred.  His  Majesty's  sons  were  reckoned 
at  upwards  of  eighty,  but  his  daughters  were  too  numerous 
to  admit  of  calculation ;  though  why  the  ladies  should 
exceed  in  such  proportion  the  gentlemen  of  the  family 
was  never  explained.  It  is  an  idea  among  Persians 
that  women  are  considerably  more  numerous  than  men ; 
and  this  delusion  they  all  allege  as  a  proof  that  Pro- 
vidence intended  wives  should  be  in  excess  to  husbands. 
His  Majesty's  sons  followed  his  example,  with  the  result 
of  many  among  them  having  forty  or  fifty  children ;  and 
the  total  of  his  descendants  is  estimated  at  some  thou- 
sand persons.  Some  among  them  are  consequently  in  a 
deplorable  state  of  poverty.  I  have  heard  of  one  prince, 
a  son  or  grandson  of  Fetteh  AH  Shah,  who  used  to  go 
himself  to  the  bazaar  to  buy  bread  for  his  family ;  and 
I  know  of  more  than  one  who  begged  a  member  of  the 
mission  to  give  them  two  or  three  sovereigns  to  relieve 
them  from  actual  want.  The  princesses  are  many  of  them 
greatly  to  be  commiserated.  They  have  been  forced  by 
destitution  to  marry  persons  of  very  inferior  condition ; 
and  one  lady  in  particular  had  taken  for  her  husband  a 


116  SULEIMANEEYA.  CHAP.  VII. 

man  who  had  been  a  cobbler,  but  who  had  raised  himself 
above  that  station. 

In  this  palace  there  was  one  room  of  considerable  size, 
which  served  as  the  hall  of  audience  of  Fetteh  All  Shah. 
It  was   decorated  in  the   usual    style   of  Persian  taste 
— abundance  of  gilding,  varnish  of  all  colours.    Looking- 
glasses  covered  the  walls  and  ceiling ;  fresco  paintings  of 
damsels  of  Europe   and  Persia   were   interspersed,   all 
scantily  attired,  but  particularly  the  former,  who  were 
invariably  represented  as  if  in  the  fullest,  or  rather  the 
scantiest,  dress,  as  for  a  ball.     In  Persia,  the  painting  of 
a  lady  intended  to  be  European  is  easily  distinguishable 
by  her  companion,  a  little  dog,  under  her  arm.     At  one 
end  of  the  apartment  was  a  large  fresco  painting,  full 
size,  of  Fetteh  Ali  Shah,  in  regal  array,  with  a  numerous 
party  of  his  sons  standing  around  him.     The  Kajjars  are 
an  eminently  handsome  race — at  least  the  royal  family 
are  so — and  not  the  less  from  the  style  of  features  being 
Israelitish.      They  are  almost  to  be  recognised  in  the 
streets  by  their  large  open  black  eyes,  aquiline  noses,  and 
well-chiselled  mouth.      At  the   other   extremity  of  the 
room  was  another  painting  of  still  greater  attraction.     It 
represented  Agha  Mahommed  Khan,  the  founder  of  the 
Kajjar  dynasty,  surrounded  by  the  chiefs  of  his  tribe  who 
helped  him  to   the   sovereignty  of  Persia.      Excepting 
Agha  Mahommed  himself,  they  are  all  clad  in  mail,  and 
all  seated  on  chairs,  which  seems  to  be  an  error  in  dra- 
matic propriety  of  the  painter  ;  for  though  the  ancient 
Persians  are  supposed  to  have  made  use  of  chairs,  the 
ground  is  preferred  by  the  modern  race.     "  Oh,  I  am 


CHAP.  VII.  AGHA  MAHOMMED.  117 

so  tired  ;  do,  pray,  let  me  sit  on  the  ground  to  rest  my- 
self,"— a  Persian  visitor  often  says  to  his  English  friend, 
after  sitting  on  a  chair  for  an  hour.  The  likenesses  of 
the  chiefs  are  said  to  be  excellent,  and  that  of  Agha 
Mahommed  Khan  himself  inimitable.  The  former  are 
fine,  sturdy,  determined-looking  warriors.  Agha  Ma- 
hommed looks  like  a  fiend.  The  atrocious,  cold,  calcu- 
lating ferocity  which  marked  the  man  is  stamped  on  his 
countenance.  He  waded  through  blood  to  the  throne, 
and  at  length  his  cruelty  cost  him  his  life.  One  evening, 
for  some  trifling  fault,  he  threatened  two  of  his  menial 
servants  with  death  in  the  morning.  As  he  ever  kept  his 
word  in  a  matter  of  this  kind,  these  domestics  murdered 
him  during  the  night  at  Sheesha,  in  Karabagh,  in  1797, 
and  his  nephew  Fetteh  Ali  Shah  ascended  the  throne. 

It  is  related  that  once  having  ordered  many  hundred 
eyes  to  be  levied  from  a  town  which  had  fallen  under  his 
vengeance,  they  were  brought  to  him  in  a  platter.  The 
savage  monarch  drew  his  dagger,  and  counted  the  eyes 
with  the  point.  Having  finished  his  diabolical  arith- 
metic, he  turned  to  his  minister,  and  said,  "  Wallahee  !  if 
one  had  been  wanting  I  would  have  made  up  the  number 
with  your  own  eyes." 

Agha  Mahommed  Khan  was  a  man  of  inflexible  reso- 
lution. On  one  occasion  he  was  surprised  at  night  by 
his  competitor  for  the  throne  Lootf  Ali  Khan  Zend,  a 
youth  of  incomparable  courage,  whom  Agha  Mahommed 
afterwards  cruelly  put  to  death.  The  entire  camp  fled, 
and  left  their  chief  to  his  fate,  with  only  a  few  guards. 
He,  however,  with  wonderful  resolution,  remained  in  his 
tent,  which  the  enemy,  in  order  that  it  might  be  preserved 


118  "AGHA  MAHOMMED.  CHAP.  VII. 

from  pillage,  did  not  enter.  In  the  morning,  at  the  first 
streak  of  dawn,  the  Kajjar  chiefs  muezzin  proclaimed,  in 
his  loudest  tone,  "  Allah  ho  Akbar !  Allah  ho  Akbar  !  " 
Lootf  Ali  Khan  and  his  troops  were  seized  with  asto- 
nishment, and  at  once  believed  that  Agha  Mahomrned 
Khan,  who  they  thought  had  fled,  was  returned  with  all 
his  forces.  They  took  to  flight  forthwith,  and  a  new 
dynasty  was  established. 

Though  cruel  and  bloodthirsty,*  it  was  chiefly  by  the 
higher  classes  that  his  fierce  temper  was  felt.  To  the 
people  at  large  he  was  just  and  kind,  and  his  dominions 
were  so  secure  from  robbers  and  marauders  that,  in 
Persian  phrase,  the  wolf  and  the  lamb  might  drink  at 
the  same  fountain.  A  horseman  once  stopped  a  peasant 
driving  an  ass  loaded  with  melons,  and  helped  himself  to 
one.  "  You  rascal !  you  dog  !  is  there  no  justice  in 
Iran?  Is  Agha  Mahommed  Khan  dead?"  screamed 
the  peasant,  making  a  blow  at  the  thief.  The  pleased 
horseman  retired,  smiling  :  it  was  Agha  Mahommed  Khan 
himself.  I  have  perhaps  tarried  too  long  with  Agha  Ma- 
hommed Khan ;  but  as  all  this  happened  only  sixty-five 
years  ago,  and  may  happen  again,  his  history  and  his 
picture  made  a  deep  impression  upon  me. 

The  next  day  brought  us  to  a  village  within  four 
miles  of  Tehran.  Here  the  urgent  request  of  the  Prime 
Minister  induced  a  stay  of  three  days,  much  to  my  discom- 


*  He  sacked  Tiflis  with  unbounded  cruelty,  and  carried  off  thousands 
of  women  and  children.  At  Kerman,  which  had  given  refuge  to  his 
rival  Lootf  Ali  Khan,  he  is  said  to  have  extracted  70,000  pairs  of  eyes, 
and  killed  an  equal  number  of  human  beings ;  but  this  is  incredible. 


CHAP.  VII.  ASTROLOGY.  119 

fort.  His  Excellency  had  been  consulting  the  astrologers, 
who,  on  referring  to  the  stars,  had  ascertained  that  for  two 
days  there  would  not  be  a  "  saete  neek,"  a  good  hour,  for 
a  solemn  entry  to  the  capital.  As  the  Ameer  e  Nirzam, 
or  Prime  Minister,  was  anxious  on  the  subject,  and  as 
Colonel  Sheil  knew  that  if  hereafter  anything  went  wrong 
it  would  be  attributed  to  the  bad  hour,  he  agreed  to 
gratify  the  Grand  Vezeer.  Many  Persians  pretend  to 
laugh  at  astrologers,  yet  there  is  scarcely  one  among 
them  who  undertakes  a  business  of  importance  without 
ascertaining  if  the  "  hour  is  good,"  or  taking  a  fal  to  help 
his  judgment.  Like  the  captain  of  a  man  of  war,  many 
among  them  "  make  "  the  hour  good  by  repeating  their 
experiments  until  fate  is  forced  to  be  propitious.  What 
astrologers  mean  by  a  good  and  bad  hour  is,  I  think,  the 
fact  of  a  malignant  star — like  Mars  in  a  love  matter,  for 
instance — being  in  the  ascendant  or  otherwise.  Taking 
a  fal  means  opening  at  random  the  Koran ;  Hafiz ;  Saadee, 
the  Sheikh,  as  he  is  familiarly  called,  counting  a  certain 
number  of  lines  down  the  page, — and  then  futurity  is 
revealed. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  appointed  day,  I  was,  in 
company  with  Crab  (who  was  considered  as  much  out  of 
place  as  myself),  deposited  in  my  large  box,  the  takhte- 
rewan,  the  curtains  of  which  were  carefully  closed,  and 
despatched  forthwith  to  Tehran  before  the  turmoil ; 
having,  in  my  capacity  of  woman,  no  concern  with  the 
solemnities  about  to  follow.  On  entering  the  capital  of 
the  Great  King,  the  King  of  Kings,  the  Shahinshah,  I 
was  startled  to  see  a  repetition  of  Tabreez,  and  some- 
thing worse,  particularly  in  passing  through  the  quarter 


120  APPROACH  TO  TEHRAN.  '  CHAP.  VII. 

of  the  hostage  Toorkomans.     The  women  showed  them- 
selves in  crowds,  and  with  complete  disregard  of  Per- 
sian ideas.      I  was  greatly  amused  at  the  manoeuvres 
of  my  escort  extraordinary.     They  were  constantly  vo- 
ciferating to  the  male  passengers  to  depart,  lest  I  should 
be  profaned  by  being  seen.      When  a  stray  passenger 
happened   to   neglect    their  hints    and    advance    boldly 
towards  the  takht,  he  was  immediately  seized,  and  placed 
with  his  face  close  to  the  wall  until  I  had  passed.     On 
reaching  the  mission  I  was  charmed  at  the  contrast  pre- 
sented  with   the   streets.      I  passed   through   a   pretty 
English  garden,  and  then  entered  an  excellent  and  even 
stately-looking    English,  or   rather   Italian,  dwelling   of 
considerable  size.     I  was  still  more  surprised  when  an 
extremely  well-dressed  Persian   entered  the  room,  and 
said  to  me,  in  an   accent    savouring  most  intensely  of 
the  "  Cowgate,"  "  Wi'  ye  tak  ony  breakfast  ?  "     This 
was   Ali    Mahommed    Beg,   the    mission    housekeeper, 
who   had   acquired   a  fair   knowledge  of  English  from 
a  Scotch  woman-servant.     Some  hours  after,  my  hus- 
band arrived,  hot  and  dusty.      The   official  entry  sur- 
passed in  brilliancy  even  the  istikbal  of  Tabreez :   the 
same  crowd,  rush  and  crush ;  the  same  coffee,  tea,  and 
kalleeons  ;  the  meerzas,  the  merchants,  the  beggars,  the 
lootees.      One  of    the  latter   particularly  distinguished 
himself:  he  put  an  ass  on  his  shoulders,  and  strutted 
along  in  front  of  the  Elchee.     The  Persians  adopted  a 
whimsical  method  of  carrying  out  the  rules  of  istikbal, 
"  according  to  treaty."     The  village  we  were  residing  in 
was  three  miles  distant  from  Tehran,  and  etiquette  re- 
quires the  ceremony  to  commence  four  miles  from  the 


CHAP.  VII.  ETIQUETTE  OF  ISTIKBAL.  121 

city.  The  point  was  knotty,  but  a  Persian  is  a  man  of 
resource.  A  tent  was  pitched  at  the  requisite  distance  ; 
and  my  husband  was  accordingly  obliged  to  return  a 
mile  towards  Tabreez,  to  receive  the  congratulations  of 
the  Shah's  representative.  Then  followed  the  long,  dusty, 
hot  ride  to  town ;  for  though  it  was  now  the  27th  of 
November,  the  weather  formed  a  strong  contrast  with  the 
temperature  of  Azerbijan.  We  were  in  lat.  36°,  and 
elevated  above  the  sea  not  much  more  than  three  thou- 
sand feet. 

We  had  now  concluded  our  long  journey  of  more  than 
three  months  and  a  half.  I  was  rejoiced  at  its  termina- 
tion ;  for  though  mixed  with  many  pleasurable  associa- 
tions, many  new  ideas  acquired,  many  wrong  notions 
dissipated ;  I  was  tired  of  the  constraint  and  the  un- 
ceasing hurry  from  object  to  object.  I  was  glad  to  rest, 
and  to  be  able  to  see  the  dawn  and  daylight  appear  with 
indifference.  I  felt  inclined  to  do  as  an  Indian  officer  I 
heard  once  did.  After  he  left  the  army,  he  paid  a  man 
to  blow  a  bugle  every  morning  at  daybreak,  that  he 
might  have  the  satisfaction  of  feeling  he  need  not  get  up. 


122  LIFE  IN  TEHEAN.  CHAP.  VIII. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Dulness  of  the  life  in  Tehran  —  Gardening  —  The  Persian  language  — 
The  Moharrem  —  Dramatic  representation  —  Fighting  among  the 
women  —  Extraordinary  overflow  of  grief  at  the  representation  — 
Visit  to  the  Shah's  mother  and  wives  —  Interior  of  the  Haram  — 
Thin  costume. 

December  2nd,  1849. — HERE  then  we  were  fairly 
launched  on  the  monotonous  current  of  life  in  Persia. 
To  a  man  the  existence  is  tiresome  enough,  but  to  a 
woman  it  is  still  more  dreary.  The  former  has  the  re- 
source of  his  occupation,  the  sports  of  the  field,  the 
gossip  and  scandal  of  the  town,  in  which  he  must  join 
whether  he  likes  it  or  not ;  and,  finally,  Persian  visiting 
cannot  be  altogether  neglected,  and,  if  freely  entered  into, 
is  alone  a  lavish  consumer  of  time.  With  a  woman  it  is 
otherwise.  She  cannot  move  abroad  without  being  thickly 
veiled;  she  cannot  amuse  herself  by  shopping  in  the 
bazars,  owing  to  the  attention  she  would  attract  unless 
attired  in  Persian  garments.  This  is  precluded  by  the 
inconvenience  of  the  little  shoes  hardly  covering  half  the 
foot,  with  a  small  heel  three  inches  high  in  the  middle  of 
the  sole,  to  say  nothing  of  the  roobend  or  small  white 
linen  veil,  fitting  tightly  round  the  head  (over  the  large 
blue  veil  which  envelopes  the  whole  person),  and  hanging 
over  the  face,  with  an  open  worked  aperture  for  the  eyes 
and  for  breathing ;  then  the  chakh-choor,  half-boot  half- 
trousers,  into  which  gown  and  petticoat  are  crammed. 


CHAP.  VIII.  GARDENING.  123 

As  to  visiting,  intimacy  with  Persian  female  society  has 
seldom  any  attraction  for  a  European,  indeed  I  regret  to 
say  there  were  only  a  few  of  the  Tehran  ladies  whose  mere 
acquaintance  was  considered  to  be  desirable ;  so  that  the 
fine  garden  of  the  Mission,  which  hitherto  had  been  much 
neglected,  was  the  only  resource  left  to  me.  The  Shah  had 
then  in  his  service  a  first-rate  English  gardener,  Mr.  Burton, 
and  with  his  help  I  astonished  every  one  with  the  fineness  of 
my  celery,  cauliflowers,  &c.,  for  these  useful  edibles  occu- 
pied my  mind  more  than  flowers.  Gardening  in  Persia 
is  not  an  easy  matter  to  bring  to  perfection.  First  there 
is  the  difficulty  of  making  the  gardeners  do  as  they  are 
told,  and  then  twice  every  week  the  garden  is  flooded  and 
the  beds  drowned.  When  the  spring  comes  on  and  the 
sun  gets  strong  and  fierce,  the  beds  dry  up  soon,  and  look 
like  baked  earth,  cracked  and  dry,  until  the  next  water 
day,  when  they  are  changed  into  mud.  The  ground  is 
covered  with  snow  during  January  and  February,  so  that 
March  and  April  in  spring,  and  October,  November,  and 
December  in  the  autumn  and  beginning  of  winter,  are 
the  only  months  fit  for  the  cultivation  of  a  garden.  The 
power  of  the  sun  in  summer  is  so  intense,  that  flowers 
blow  and  wither  in  a  day.  Roses  come  in  about  the  24th 
of  April,  and  are  out  of  season  in  Tehran  by  the  middle 
of  May.  During  that  time  they  are  in  wonderful  profu- 
sion, and  are  cultivated  in  fields  as  an  object  of  trade  to 
make  rosewater;  they  are  an  inferior  kind  of  cabbage 
rose.  Persians  are  also  fond  of  cultivating  tuberoses, 
narcissus,  and  tulips  in  water ;  still  all  their  flowers  are 
much  inferior  to  ours ;  but  while  they  last  are  super- 
abundant. I  got  over  some  fine  hyacinths  one  year,  and 

G  2 


1 24  THE  PERSIAN  LANGUAGE.  CHAP.  VIII. 

they  attracted  great  admiration.  Nearly  all  our  garden 
flowers  grow  wild  in  Persia,  but  are  small,  and  always 
single. 

The  distance  at  which  the  Russian  mission  resided 
prevented  me  from  cultivating  as  much  as  I  wished,  the 

acquaintance  of  Princess  D and  her  amiable  daughter; 

and  the  remaining  European  female  society  of  Tehran 
was  limited  to  one  or  two  ladies,  the  wives  of  foreign 
officers  in  the  Shah's  service.  To  my  countrywomen, 
therefore,  whose  pleasures  are  derived  from  the  excite- 
ments of  a  London  or  Paris  season,  I  need  not  offer 
counsel  to  eschew  a  land  where  life  for  them  much  re- 
sembles that  of  a  convent.  Once  a  month  the  post  from 
Europe  arrived,  and  that  was  a  bright,  joyful  day.  The 
10th  of  each  month  the  mail  was  "  due,"  and  every  one 
anxiously  expecting  it,  but  alas !  we  often  experienced 
the  truth  of  the  saying,  "  Hope  deferred  maketh  the 
heart  sick,"  for  we  were  often  forgotten  in  Constantinople. 

There  was  ample  time  consequently  for  the  study  of 
Persian,  and  I  soon  acquired  sufficient  to  enable  me  to 
go  through  my  part  unaided  in  the  society  of  the  few 
Persian  ladies  with  whom  I  was  on  visiting  terms.  For- 
tunately Persian,  up  to  a  certain  extent,  is  an  exceed- 
ingly easy  language,  more  so  even  than  Italian.  In  the 
pronunciation  there  is  no  difficulty,  and  for  my  limited 
topics  of  conversation  the  idiom  was  not  so  remote  from 
that  of  the  languages  of  Europe  as  to  make  its  acquisi- 
tion a  painful  study.  But  that  there  is  no  good  unmixed 
with  evil  is  true  of  Persian  as  of  all  other  things.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  "  reading  made  easy."  The  character 
is  abominable  and  almost  invincible.  Enough  to  say,  that 


CHAP.  VIII.  THE  MOHARREM.  125 

there  are  neither  capitals  nor  pauses  of  any  kind,  nor 
divisions  of  sentences,  paragraphs,  chapters,  books,  or 
volumes.  English  itself  would  be  an  enigma  under  such 
perplexities.  One  of  my  modes  of  study  was  to  listen  to 
the  Persian  meerzas,  or  secretaries,  reading  letters,  but 
I  never  saw  an  instance  of  their  reading  an  epistle  at  once 
without  hesitation,  and  still  less  of  their  understanding  it 
at  the  first  perusal. 

The  month  of  December  chanced  this  year  to  be  one 
of  woe  and  wailing  externally,  but  really  of  relaxation 
and  amusement  to  all  classes  of  Persians.  It  was  the 
month  of  Moharrem,  which  among  Sheahs  is  solemnized 
in  commemoration  of  the  slaughter  of  Imam  Hoossein  and 
his  family  in  the  desert  of  Kerbella.  The  story  is  affecting. 
The  Persians  have  converted  it  into  a  theatrical  repre- 
sentation, somewhat  resembling  the  Mysteries  produced 
on  the  stage  in  old  times  in  England  and  elsewhere.  Hoos- 
sein, the  son  of  Fatma,  daughter  of  Mahommed,  is  march- 
ing through  the  desert  with  his  wives  and  family  of  young 
children  and  attendants,  chiefly  his  near  relations,  num- 
bering seventy  persons.  They  are  attacked  by  the  troops 
of  Yezeed,  commanded  by  his  general  Obeid  Oollah,  the 
monarch  of  Damascus,  and  the  second  sovereign  of  the 
Benee  Ornmeya  dynasty.  Hoossein  defends  himself  va- 
liantly during  several  days ;  till  at  length  he  is  cut  off 
from  the  Euphrates,  and  his  family  perish,  tome  from 
thirst,  some  fighting.  Hoossein  is  finally  killed  and  his 
head  is  cut  off  by  Shimr.  It  requires  to  be  seen  to  con- 
ceive the  emotion  of  the  Persians  at  this  performance. 
On  every  side,  and  from  all  ranks,  sighs,  groans,  and 
weeping,  without  restraint,  are  heard,  mixed  with  impre- 


12(j  THE  MOHARREM.  CHAP.  VIII. 

cations  against  the  perpetrators  of  the  cruelties  suffered 
by  the  prophet's  grandson  and  his  family.  Excitement 
is  occasionally  carried  to  such  a  pitch  that  Shimr,  the 
object  of  general  execration,  has  difficulty  in  making  his 
escape  from  the  oriental  Judge  Lynch,  and  particularly 
from  the  indignation  and  buffets  of  the  women.  The  re- 
presentation lasts  ten  days,  and  several  hours  each  day. 
I  confess  with  some  shame,  that  my  patience  and  curiosity 
were  insufficient  to  carry  me  through  a  complete  perform- 
ance of  the  entire  drama ;  nevertheless  I  have  been  to 
several  representations.  One  of  the  principal  personages 
on  one  of  the  ten  days  is  the  Elchee  Fering,  some  fictitious 
European  ambassador,  probably  Greek,  who  is  present 
when  the  head  of  lloossein  is  exhibited  to  Yezeed,  and 
who  loudly  protests  against  the  massacre ;  for  which  in- 
discretion he  is  rewarded  with  the  crown  of  martyrdom. 
There  is  always  great  anxiety  that  the  costume  .of  his 
Excellency  should  be  European  and  military,  and,  above 
all,  a  cocked  hat  and  feather  are  highly  prized.  At 
Serab,  some  years  ago,  a  deputation  once  waited  on 
my  husband  to  borrow  his  coat  and  cap  for  the  Elchee 
Fering,  now  generally  called  with  immense  contempt  of 
chronology,  Elchee  Inglees.  At  Tehran  our  horses  and 
chairs  too,  are  in  constant  requisition  during  the  month  of 
Moharrem,  at  the  private  performances  in  the  city — the 
former  to  appear  in  the  pageant,  the  latter  to  accom- 
modate the  European  visitors. 

The  Prime  Minister  had  constructed  an  immense 
building,  holding  several  thousand  persons,  for  these  re- 
presentations. It  fulfilled  all  the  purposes  of  a  theatre, 
though  after  a  design  somewhat  novel.  The  stage,  in- 


CHAP.  VIII.          DRAMATIC  REPRESENTATION.  127 

stead  of  being  at  the  bottom  of  the  building,  was  formed 
of  a  large  elevated  platform  in  the  middle  of  the  pit,  if  I 
may  so  call  it,  perfectly  open  on  every  side,  and  revealing, 
to  the  entire  destruction  of  all  exercise  of  the  imagination, 
the  mysteries  which  ought  to  pass  behind  the  curtain. 
Two  tiers  of  boxes  surround  the  platform.  The  foreign 
ministers  receive  a  formal  invitation  to  attend  the  Tazeeya, 
as  these  performances  are  called,  of  the  Prime  Minister, 
to  refuse  which  would  be  resented  as  highly  discourteous. 
I  too  was  included  in  the  invitation.  On  reaching  the 
building,  I  was  conducted  to  a  very  comfortable  loge,  with 
an  antechamber,  or  keMiken,  "  slipper-casting "  room, 
where  one  leaves  the  outer  shoes.  The  front  of  the  box 
was  carefully  covered  over  with  a  thick  felt  carpet, 
pierced  with  small  holes,  which,  while  they  allowed  us  to 
see  all  that  passed,  completely  excluded  us  from  the  view 
of  the  audience.  The  Shah's  box  was  at  the  top,  facing 
the  performers  ;  on  his  right  were  the  boxes  of  his  uncle?, 
the  prime  minister,  the  English  minister  as  senior,  the 
Russian  minister,  &c.  On  his  left  were  the  boxes  of  his 
mother,  who  has  no  other  title  than  that  of  Mader  e 
Shah,  the  king's  mother,  and  his  wives ;  then  that  of 
the  prime  minister's  wife,  then  mine,  and  next  the  Rus- 
sian minister's  wife.  The  fatigues  of  the  day  were 
relieved  by  constant  supplies  of  tea  and  coffee,  with  pipes 
incessantly  for  those  who  liked  them.  The  "  house  "  was 
completely  filled,  and  there  must  have  been  several 
thousand  persons  present.  Part  of  the  pit  was  appro- 
priated to  women  of  humble  condition,  who  were  in  great 
numbers,  all  however  carefully  veiled,  and  all  seated  on 
the  bare  ground.  Before  the  "  curtain  drew  up,"  it  was 


128  FIGHTING  AMONG  THE  WOMEN.       CHAP.  VIII. 

ludicrous  to  witness  the  contention  among  these  dames 
for  places,  which  was  not  always  limited  to  cries  and  exe- 
crations. They  often  proceeded  to  blows,  striking  each 
other  heartily  on  the  head  with  the  iron  heel  of  their 
slippers,  dexterously  snatched  off  the  foot  for  the  purpose  ; 
and,  worse  still,  tearing  off  each  other's  veils  ;  several 
ferashes  were  present  to  keep  the  peace,  armed  with  long 
sticks,  with  which  they  unmercifully  belaboured  these 
pugnacious  devotees.  It  would  be  tedious  to  describe  a 
drama  of  ten  days'  duration.  Everything  was  done  to 
make  the  scene  as  real  as  possible.  Hoossein,  his  family, 
and  attendants,  were  in  the  costume  of  the  time.  They 
make  their  appearance,  travelling  to  Cufa,  in  the  desert 
of  Kerbella.  Camels,  led  horses  caparisoned,  kejawas, 
are  conducted  round  the  platform  ;  trumpets,  kettledrums, 
resound  far  and  near.  Yezeed's  army  appears,  his 
general  makes  a  speech,  Imam  Hoossein  laments  his 
pathetic  fate ;  he  then  goes  out  to  fight,  and  returns, 
himself  and  his  horse  covered  with  arrows.  The  scene 
proceeds ;  they  are  cut  off  from  the  Euphrates ;  more 
lamentations  over  their  impending  fate,  more  fighting. 
The  fierce  Shimr  and  his  cavaliers,  all  in  mail,  come  for- 
ward, mounted  on  their  war-horses  ;  Shimr  makes  speeches 
in  character;  Imam  Hoossein  replies  with  dignity  and 
with  grief  for  the  distress  of  his  family.  His  young 
sons  Ali  Akbar  and  Ali  Asghar  go  out  to  fight,  and  are 
brought  back  dead.  Sekkeena  and  Rookheeya,  his  little 
daughters,  are  slain  amid  the  weeping  loud  and  unfeigned 
of  the  audience.  The  angel  Gabriel  descends  from  the 
skies,  attended  by  his  ministering  angels,  all  radiant  in 
spangled  wings,  and  deprecates  the  hard  lot  of  the 


CHAP.  VIII.  EXTRAORDINARY  WEEPING.  129 

prophet's  offspring  ;  the  King  of  the  Gins,  or  Genii,  with 
his  army,  appears,  and  follows  the  angelic  example. 
Moses,  Jesus  Christ,  and  Mahommed,  revisit  the  earth, 
and  are  stricken  with  the  general  contagion  of  grief. 
At  length  Shimr  does  his  work,  amidst  an  universal  out- 
burst of  sorrow  and  indignation ;  and  the  next  day,  the 
tenth,  the  interment  of  Imam  Hoossein  and  his  family 
takes  places  at  Kerbella. 

It  is  a  sight  in  no  small  degree  curious  to  witness  an 
assemblage  of  several  thousand  persons  plunged  in  deep 
sorrow,  giving  vent  to  their  grief  in  the  style  of  school- 
boys and  girls.  The  Persians  have  a  peculiar  manner  of 
weeping.  Various  extraordinary  and  ludicrous  noises 
accompany  their  demonstrations,  which  one  is  sometimes 
inclined  to  mistake  for  laughter.  When  one  begins  the 
contagion  spreads  to  all.  I  too  felt  myself  forced,  would 
I  or  not,  to  join  my  tears  to  those  of  the  Persian  women 
round  me,  which  appeared  to  give  considerable  satisfaction 
to  them.  The  events  are  indeed  affecting,  and  many  of 
the  parts  are  acted  with  great  spirit  and  judgment.  The 
delivery  is  a  sort  of  recitative.  Imam  Hoossein  was 
composed  and  dignified.  The  part  of  Sekkeena,  a  girl  of 
twelve,  was  performed  by  a  little  boy  with  an  approbation 
which  he  well  deserved.  Shimr  was  excellent,  fierce  and 
ferocious  as  a  Meerghazab.  Young  lads  represented  the 
wives  of  Hoossein,  in  whose  favour  I  can  say  nothing ; 
their  boisterous  Arab  grief  failed  to  excite  my  sym- 
pathy. 

It  was  strange  to  see  Moses  attired  as  an  Arab  sheikh, 
which  probably  enough  was  a  correct  representation  of  his 
real  costume,  though  not  bearing  much  likeness  to  Michael 

G    3 


130  VISIT  TO  THE  SHAH'S  CHAP.  VIII. 

Angelo's  conception  of  the  great  lawgiver.  Our  Saviour 
was  made  to  appear  in  garments  denoting  poverty,  though 
certainly  not  with  any  intention  of  indignity.  Two  wo- 
men sat  at  his  side,  who,  in  answer  to  my  inquiry,  I  was 
told  were  his  wives.  Mahommed  made  amends  hy  his 
grandeur,  in  which  silvered  silk  and  Cashmeer  shawls 
were  prominent.  The  Elchee  was  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  who  had  a  European  bonnet  on,  with  the  curtain 
hanging  over  the  forehead  and  the  front  on  her  neck. 
During  the  entire  month  the  women  and  many  of  the  men 
dress 'in  black. 

January  12th. — The  season  of  grief  having  passed,  I 
now  prepared  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  Serkar  e  Mader  e 
Shah,  her  highness  the  Shah's  mother.  Instead  of  his 
Majesty's  principal  wife,  as  one  would  anticipate,  it  is  this 
lady  who  holds  the  chief  place  at  court — among  the  woman- 
kind, be  it  well  understood.  The  royal  wives  count  as 
nothing,  unless  under  very  unusual  circumstances,  such 
as  occurred  in  the  instance  of  the  Tajood  Dowla,  in 
Fetteh  Ali  Shah's  reign,  who,  from  a  very  humble  origin, 
ascended  to  her  elevated  position  by  force  of  talent,  and, 
what  is  more  uncommon,  of  goodness.  The  Khanum,  or 
Lady,  that  being  the  name  the  Shah  applies  to  his 
mother,  as  Napoleon  the  Great  did  Madame  to  his, 
having  fixed  the  day,  a  large  retinue  of  servants  with  a 
gaudy  takhterewan  were  sent  by  her  to  convey  me  to  the 
palace,  which,  joined  to  my  own  servants,  made  an  incon- 
venient procession  through  the  narrow  bazars.  After 
much  shouting  and  turning  of  people's  faces  to  the  wall, 
we  arrived  at  a  small  door.  Here  our  cavalcade  stopped, 
and  I  alighted  from  the  takhterewan.  The  men  servants 


Persian  Lady  i«ceiving  a  European  Lady. 


Pafte  131 


CHAP.  VIII.  MOTHER  AND  WIVES.  131 

were  forbidden  to  advance,  and,  accompanied  by  my  maid, 
I  was  conducted  along  a  damp  passage  into  a  fine  court 
with  a  large  tank  full  of  water  in  the  centre  ;  from  various 
apartments  round  this  court  women  hastened  out,  curious 
to  see  the  Khanum  e  Inglees,  the  English  lady.  I  passed 
on,  ascended  a  flight  of  steps,  and  reached  a  nice  room 
hung  round  with  looking-glasses,  where  a  chair  had  been 
placed  for  me.  Here  I  was  joined  by  a  Frenchwoman, 
who,  when  very  young,  had  married  a  Persian  she  met  in 
Paris,  and  whose  faith  she  has  since  adopted.  She  is  inter- 
preter to  the  Shah's  mother,  and  is  a  very  clever,  agreeable 
person.  In  a  few  minutes  a  negress  entered  the  room, 
and  informed  us  that  the  Khanum  waited,  and  that  I  was 
to  "  take  my  brightness  into  her  presence."  We  were  then 
ushered  into  the  adjoining  chamber,  and  found  her  seated 
on  a  chair  at  a  table  which  was  covered  with  coarse  white 
unhemmed  calico.  On  each  side  of  her,  on  a  chair  like- 
wise, sat  a  pretty  young  lady  covered  with  jewels.  The 
Khanum  said  a  great  many  amiable  things  to  me,  and 
went  through  all  the  usual  Persian  compliments,  hoping 
my  heart  had  not  grown  narrow,  that  my  nose  was  fat,  &c. 
&c.  She  then  introduced  the  two  young  ladies  as  the 
Shah's  two  principal  wives  and  cousins.  Neither  of  them 
uttered  a  word,  but  sat  like  statues  during  my  interview, 
which  lasted  two  hours.  The  Shah's  mother  is  handsome, 
and  does  not  look  more  than  thirty,  yet  her  real  age 
must  be  at  least  forty.  She  is  very  clever,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  take  a  large  share  in  the  affairs  of  the  govern- 
ment. She  has  also  the  whole  management  of  the  Shah's 
anderoon ;  so  that  I  should  think  she  must  have  a  good 
deal  to  occupy  her  mind,  as  the  Shah  has  three  principal 


132  VISIT  TO  THE  SHAH'S  CHAP.  VIII. 

wives,  and  eight  or  nine  inferior  ones.  These  ladies  have 
each  a  separate  little  establishment,  and  some  a  separate 
court  from  the  rest,  but  all  the  courts  have  a  communica- 
tion with  one  another.  I  do  not  admire  the  costume  of 
the  Persian  women.  The  Shah's  mother  was  dressed 
with  great  magnificence.  She  wore  a  pair  of  trousers 
made  of  gold  brocade.  These  Persian  trousers  are 
always,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  very  wide,  each  leg 
being,  when  the  means  of  the  wearer  allow  it,  wider  than 
the  skirt  of  a  gown,  so  that  they  have  the  effect  of  an  ex- 
ceedingly ample  petticoat ;  and  as  crinolines  are  un- 
known, the  elegantes  wear  ten  and  eleven  pairs  of  trousers, 
one  over  the  other  in  order  to  make  up  for  the  want  of 
the  above  important  invention.  But  to  return  to  the 
Shah's  mother :  her  trousers  were  edged  with  a  border  of 
pearls  embroidered  on  braid  ;  she  had  a  thin  blue  crepe 
chemisette,  also  trimmed  with  pearls ;  this  chemisette 
hung  down  a  little  below  the  waist,  nearly  meeting  the 
top  of  the  trousers,  which  are  fastened  by  a  running 
string.  As  there  was  nothing  under  the  thin  gauze,  the 
result  of  course  was  more  display  than  is  usual  in  Europe. 
A  small  jacket  of  velvet  was  over  the  chemisette,  reach- 
ing to  the  waist,  but  not  made  to  close  in  front,  and 
on  the  head  a  small  shawl,  pinned  under  the  chin.  On 
the  shawl  were  fastened  strings  of  large  pearls  and  dia- 
mond sprigs ;  her  arms  were  covered  with  handsome 
bracelets,  and  her  neck  with  a  variety  of  costly  necklaces. 
Her  hair  was  in  bands,  and  hung  down  under  the  shawl 
in  a  multitude  of  small  plaits.  She  wore  no  shoes,  her 
feet  being  covered  with  fine  Cashmere  stockings.  The 
palms  of  her  hands  and  tips  of  her  fingers  were  dyed  red, 


CH.U-.  VIII.  MOTHER  AND  WIVES.  133 

with  a  herb  called  henna,  and  the  edges  of  the  inner  part 
of  the  eyelids  were  coloured  with  antimony.  All  the 
Kajars  have  naturally  large  arched  eyebrows,  but,  not 
satisfied  with  this,  the  women  enlarge  them  by  doubling 
their  real  size  with  great  streaks  of  antimony :  her  cheeks 
were  well  rouged,  as  is  the  invariable  custom  among 
Persian  women  of  all  classes.  She  asked  me  many  ques- 
tions about  the  Queen  ;  how  she  dressed,  how  many  sons 
she  had,  and  said  she  could  not  imagine  a  happier  person 
than  her  Majesty,  with  her  fine  family,  her  devoted  hus- 
band, and  the  power  she  possessed.  She  made  me  de- 
scribe the  ceremonial  of  a  drawing-room.  I  much  re- 
gretted I  had  no  picture  of  the  Queen  to  show  her.  She 
was  also  curious  to  have  an  account  of  a  theatre.  My 
maid  had  been  taken  to  another  room,  where,  surrounded 
by  the  servants  and  slaves  of  the  anderoon,  she  was  sur- 
feited with  sugarplums,  and  where  her  dress  excited 
much  curiosity.  These  attendants  had  the  same  costume 
as  the  Shah's  mother,  only  English  printed  calico  of 
bright  flowered  patterns  took  the  place  of  brocade  and 
velvet.  Some  of  them  had  their  hair  cut  short  in  front, 
and  combed  straight  down  to  the  eyebrows,  with  two  stiff 
curls  at  each  cheek,  peeping  out  from  under  the  shawl. 
Tea,  coffee,  and  pipes  were  brought  in  repeatedly,  and 
after  some  time  a  nice  collation  of  fruit.  Various  kinds 
of  sherbets,  ices,  and  cakes  were  spread  on  the  table,  and 
on  the  ground.  We  were  surrounded  by  ladies,  who 
attended  as  if  they  had  been  servants.  No  one  was 
seated,  excepting  the  Shah's  mother,  his  wives,  and  myself. 
Some  of  the  former  were  wives  of  the  late  Shah  and  his 
predecessor,  Fetteh  AH  Shah.  None  of  them  were  young, 


134  PEESIAN  WOMEN.  CIIAP.  VIII. 

excepting  one,  who  was  very  handsome  as  well  as  youth- 
ful. Her  name  was  Miriam  Khanum,  wife  of  a  brother 
of  the  Shah's  mother.  She  was  much  flattered  at  my 
telling  her  she  was  like  a  European.  The  women  in 
Persia  have  only  one  name,  sometimes  a  fanciful  one ; 
such  as  Beebee  Asr,  "  the  Lady  of  the  Era ;"  Mehr- 
ban  Khanum,  "  the  Lady  of  Courtesy ;"  Sheereen  Kha- 
num, "  Lady  of  Sweetness,"  &c.  &c.  At  length  I  de- 
parted, and  regained  my  takhterewan,  highly  pleased  with 
the  novelty  of  the  scene.  When  I  had  acquired  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  their  language  to  be  able  to  form  an  opinion, 
I  found  the  few  Persian  women  I  was  acquainted  with 
in  general  lively  and  clever;  they  are  restless  and  in- 
triguing, and  may  be  said  to  manage  their  husband's  and 
son's  affairs.  Persian  men  are  made  to  yield  to  their 
wishes  by  force  of  incessant  talking  and  teazing. 


CHAP.  IX.  GEBRS.  135 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

Gebr  fire-worshippers  —  Curious  mode  of  interment  —  Mission  garden 
taken  possession  of  by  the  Persian  ladies  —  Persian  music  —  Musical 
masons  —  The  anniversary  of  Omar's  assassination  —  How  celebrated 
—  Difference  between  Turks  and  Persians  —  Persian  tolerance  — 
Debts  —  Marriage  —  Condition  of  Persian  women. 

February  1st. — THE  large  garden  attached  to  the  mis- 
sion, in  which  we  perform  our  daily  perambulations,  was 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  or  street ;  yet  even  for 
this  short  distance  we  were  forced  to  submit  to  the  tire- 
some etiquette  of  being  attended  by  numerous  servants. 
I  never  went  out  to  drive  with  less  than  fifteen  or  twenty 
horsemen  armed  to  the  teeth  ;  not  that  there  was  the  re- 
motest shadow  of  danger,  for  no  country  is  safer  than 
Persia,  but  that  dignity  so  required.  Yet  this  trouble- 
some grandeur  was  trifling  to  the  cavalcade  of  a  Persian 
lady  or  gentleman  of  rank.  Our  garden  was  but  a  me- 
lancholy place  of  recreation :  lugubrious  rows  of  cypress, 
the  emblem  of  the  graveyard  in  the  East,  crossed  each 
other  at  right  angles ;  and,  to  complete  the  picture,  the 
deserted,  neglected,  little  tombs  of  some  of  the  children 
of  former  Ministers  occupied  a  prominent  space,  and 
filled  one  sometimes  witli  gloomy  forebodings.  The  gar- 
deners of  this  spot,  which,  in  spite  of  the  above  disadvan- 
tages, was  invaluable  to  me ;  by  an  old  -custom  of  the 
Mission,  were  always  Gebrs  of  the  ancient  fire-worshipping 
native  race.  These  people  are  most  industrious,  and 


136  GEBRS.  CHAP.  IX. 

struggle  hard  under  oppression  and  bigotry,  to  gain  a 
subsistence.  They  dwell  chiefly  in  the  eastern  province 
of  Yezd,  from  whence  they  migrate  annually  in  great 
numbers  during  spring,  something  like  the  Irish  reapers 
and  mowers  of  old ;  and  before  winter  they  assemble  in 
the  Mission  garden,  and  with  their  humble  gains  return 
in  a  body  to  their  own  province.  In  Tehran  their  abode 
is  the  Mission  garden,  where  I  have  sometimes  seen  two 
hundred  of  this  primitive  people  collected  under  the  tree,-, 
where  they  live.  The  garden  is  recognised  as  their  sanc- 
tuary and  place  of  refuge,  where  no  hand  of  violence 
molests  them.  They  preserve  a  connexion  with  their 
brethren  the  Parsees  of  Bombay,  and  it  is  on  this  account, 
in  all  likelihood,  that  their  intercourse  with  us  is  so  inti- 
mate. In  these  improving  days  of  Persia  this  protection 
is  less  necessary  than  formerly ;  particularly  as  the  pre- 
sent Prime  Minister  is  a  man  of  much  humanity,  and 
willing  to  befriend  this  hapless  community,  who,  in  their 
own  province,  suffer  great  hardships  from  the  rapacity  of 
governors,  and  the  bigotry  of  moollas.  They  are  a  simple, 
uneducated  class,  more  rustic  and  uncouth  in  their  ap- 
pearance and  manners  than  Mahommedan  Persians  of  the 
same  condition.  Little  or  no  information  could  be  gained 
from  them  regarding  their  religion  and  customs.  They 
said  there  was  one  great  God  that  ruled  everything,  and 
that  he  had  created  numerous  other  gods  or  angels,  who 
superintend  the  affairs  of  the  world  ;  there  was  a  futurity 
of  rewards  and  punishments ;  and  besides  the  God  of 
Goodness  there  is  another  spirit  who  is  the  cause  of  sin. 
This  of  course  was  Ahriman.  They  denied  emphatically 
that  fire  or  light  was  regarded  as  God ;  but  they  affirmed 


OIAI-.  IX.  GEBRS.  137 

that  they  considered  it  as  a  most  sacred  and  holy  repre- 
sentative of  the  Divinity  and  of  his  power.  Compared 
with  other  Persians,  the  Gebrs  are  described  to  be  a 
highly  virtuous  people,  though  oppression  has  made  them 
crafty ;  and  my  experience  of  the  manner  in  which  my 
fattest  turkeys  and  best  vegetables  disappeared,  makes 
me  certain  that  they  are  not  much  more  honest  than  the 
rest  of  the  nation.  They  marry  but  one  wife,  with  the 
natural  result  of  a  greater  amount  of  conjugal  felicity 
than  prevails  among  Mahommedan  Persians.  Within  a 
few  miles  of  Tehran  there  is  a  place  of  interment  of  the 
Gebrs.  The  body  is  placed  at  the  summit  of  a  hill, 
exposed  to  the  air  and  to  the  birds  of  prey ;  when  the 
flesh  is  thoroughly  consumed  the  bones  are  thrown  into  a 
common  pit.  Few  of  their  women  venture  so  far  as 
Tehran :  those  who  have  appeared  were  plain  in  feature 
and  coarse  in  expression ;  so,  too,  were  the  men,  wholly 
unlike  the  men  of  the  true  Persian  tribes,  although,  I  sup- 
pose, both  the  Gebrs  and  these  tribes  are  of  the  same  race. 
This  garden  was  appropriated  to  other  purposes.  The 
13th  of  the  month  Setter  is,  from  some  reason  which  I  have 
omitted  to  record,  very  ominous,  particularly  to  any  one 
who  ventures  to  pass  the  day  in  a  house.  The  whole  town 
is  consequently  on  foot,  either  in  excursions  or  in  sauntering 
about  the  few  gardens  in  the  dreary  neighbourhood  of 
Tehran.  By  ancient  prescription  our  garden  was  devoted 
to  the  women  of  every  rank  who  chose  to  make  use  of  it, 
all  males  being  carefully  excluded,  the  Gebr  gardeners 
excepted,  who  among  Persian  women  are  counted  as 
nothing.  The  garden  is  occupied  during  the  entire  day 
by  three  or  four  hundred  females — princesses,  ladies,  and 


138  PERSIAN  MUSIC.  CHAP.  IX. 

others  of  inferior  degree — who  devote  themselves  to  smok- 
ing, and  eating  lettuces,  radishes,  if  they  happen  to  be  in 
season,  or  sweetmeats.  The  day  never  concludes  without 
a  battle  royal,  hand  and  tongue,  between  them  and  the 
Gebrs,  who,  strong  in  their  dignity  of  gardeners  to  the 
Vezeer  Mookhtar,  as  the  foreign  Ministers  are  absurdly 
called,*  are  unable  to  tolerate  the  unblushing  pilfering  of 
plants,  flowers,  and  fruit  of  these  dames,  headed  by  the 
princesses,  who  never  fail  to  put  to  flight  the  "  fire-wor- 
shipping infidels."  That  powerful  ruler  in  the  East 
Aadet — custom — has  given  the  ladies  of  Tehran  vested 
rights  over  her  Majesty's  garden  one  day  in  the  year, 
which  they  stoutly  maintain. 

February  Wth. — In  passing  through  the  streets  of 
Tehran,  one  would  be  disposed  to  consider  the  Persians 
a  very  musical  race.  From  all  sides  melodious  sounds, 
somewhat  monotonous,  it  is  true,  constantly  strike  the  ear. 
And  yet  they  cannot  be  called  a  musical  people  ;  far  from 
it.  The  combination  of  second  tenor  and  bass  is  unknown 
to  them,  and  unison  is  all  they  aim  at,  no  matter  what 
number  of  voices,  or  of  fiddles,  guitars,  harps,  and  dulci- 
mers, form  the  concert.  A  lad  warbling  in  his  throat,  at 
his  highest  and  loudest  scream,  in  imitation  of  a  nightin- 
gale, is  the  perfection  of  vocal  music,  which  they  will 
listen  to  with  pleasure  for  hours,  and  beguile  the  longest 


*  This  name,  so  full  of  false  pretension,  was  introduced  by  the 
Russians,  and  for  no  good  motive.  The  word  "vezeer,"  they  said, 
implied  "  minister,"  consequently  they  were  vezeers.  It  certainly  does 
mean  minister,  but  only  a  Minister  of  State,  which  a  minister  plenipo- 
tentiary is  not.  Thus  a  spurious  consequence  is  acquired,  which  the 
English  have  been  forced  to  partake  in  self-defence. 


CHAP.  IX.  MUSICAL  MASOXS.  139 

day's  journey  with  the  same  dulcet  strains.  But  the 
street  music  I  allude  to  is  a  different  thing  :  it  proceeds 
from  the  bricklayers.  In  bricklaying  in  Persia  the  brick 
is  thrown  from  hand  to  hand  until  at  length  it  is  pitched 
to  the  oostad,  the  master  mason.  To  relieve  his  monoto- 
nous labour  the  oostad  has  recourse  to  a  chant,  fully  as 
monotonous  as  his  work,  but  sweet  in  tone.  In  general 
he  combines  a  little  polemical  casuistry  and  devotion  with 
his  psalmody,  by  directing  a  vast  quantity  of  abuse  against 
Omar,  the  second  Caliph  after  Mahommed,  whom  the  Per- 
sians regard  with  bitter  enmity,  as  being  the  leader  in  the 
exclusion  of  AH  from  the  Caliphate.  He  sings  to  words 
in  this  style : — 

Khishtee  bideh  mara  janum 

Ldanet  illahee  her  Oma-a-ar. 

Give  me  a  brick  then,  my  life, 

And  the  curse  of  God  light  on  Omar. 

Tehee  deeger  bideh  bimun  azeezum 
Inshallah  kheir  neh  beened  Oma-a-r. 

Give  me  another,  now,  my  darling, 
Please  God,  Omar  will  not  have  any  luck. 

On  the  day  on  which  Omar  was  assassinated,  the  powers 
of  the  bricklayers  in  poetical  and  melodious  imprecation 
wax  stronger.  It  is  a  strange  circumstance  that  a  man 
should  daily  suffer  malediction  twelve  hundred  years  after 
his  death.  Judas  Jscariot  is  better  off.  The  women  dis- 
tinguish themselves  by  their  devotion  on  this  anniversary, 
though  their  mode  of  evincing  their  piety  is  both  inconve- 
nient and  whimsical.  Perched  on  the  flat  roof  of  their 
houses  overlooking  the  street,  and  armed  with  a  large  pot 
of  water,  they  lie  in  wait  for  the  passers  by,  and  the  heed- 
less passenger  is  soused  with  the  water,  while  a  triumphant 


140  PERSIAN  TOLERANCE.  CHAP.  IX. 

scream  proclaims  "  Omar,  laanelioo  Allah  "  (Omar,  God 
curse  him  I).  Beyond  that  general  solver  of  all  difficulties 
and  mysteries  in  Persia,  Kaedeh — custom,  I  never  could 
obtain  any  explanation  of  this  practice,  unless  perhaps  the 
nearly  equally  general  and  less  complimentary  one  of  "Zun 
est !  Deeger  "  (they  are  women  !  what  can  you  expect  ?). 
The  Government  never  countenanced  these  ebullitions  of 
zeal,  still  it  was  not  easy  to  punish  the  women.  When 
the  Turkish  ambassador  came  to  Tehran,  it  was  feared 
he  might  be  insulted  by  expressions  like  these.  Nothing, 
however,  occurred  to  disturb  harmony,  perhaps  from  his 
Excellency  taking  the  precaution  of  remaining  at  home  on 
the  day  of  Omar  Kooshan  (slaying  Omar). 

The  Persians  are  a  curious  combination  of  bigotry  and 
tolerance,  or  perhaps  indifferentism ;  but  in  the  towns 
where  Europeans  reside,  fanaticism  is  obviously  fast  de- 
caying. It  is  believed  that  had  Constantinople  been  their 
capital,  the  Persians  would  long  ere  this  have  far  surpassed 
the  Turks  in  religious  toleration.  A  Turk  has  an  Arme- 
nian for  his  cook,  and  his  bath  is  freely  open  to  a  Chris- 
tian. A  Persian  would  on  no  account  submit  to  have  his 
own  kitchen  presided  over  by  an  Armenian,  who  kills  fowls 
unlawfully  by  wringing  their  necks  instead  of  cutting  their 
throats ;  and  when  a  European  enters  a  public  bath,  it 
must  be  by  night,  stealthily  and  at  some  expense.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  Persian  never  hesitates  to  rise  on  receiving 
a  Christian  visitor ;  which  is  such  gall  and  wormwood  to 
any  Ottoman  whose  official  position  compels  him  to  show 
this  mark  of  deference  to  a  European,  that  he  generally 
contrives  on  such  occasions  to  be  standing  deeply  engaged 
in  the  perusal  of  a  letter.  A  Persian  has  likewise  no  hesi- 


CHAP.  IX.  PERSIAN  TOLERANCE.  Ul 

tation  in  uttering  the  salutation  of  Salamun  Aleikoom,  to 
a  Christian,  which  a  Turk  would  rather  suffer  martyrdom 
than  do.  No  contempt  is  felt  by  the  natives  of  Persia 
towards  Europeans,  though  occasionally  a  moolla  or  a 
devout  merchant  may  destroy  the  teacup  his  European 
guest  has  used ;  on  the  contrary,  they  venerate  them  as 
their  superiors  in  almost  every  quality.  A  Turk,  unless 
he  he  educated  in  Europe,  and  therefore  denationalized, 
has  seldom  any  feelings  towards  a  Feringhee  but  those  of 
dislike  and  contempt.  As  a  proof  of  the  correctness  of 
the  above  opinion,  I  may  mention  that  several  years  ago  a 
private  soldier  deserted  from  the  Russian  army  and  entered 
the  service  of  the  Shah.  He  rose  to  the  rank  of  brigadier 
and  khan,  and  notwithstanding  that  he  continued  to  be  a 
Christian,  he  was  made  military  governor  of  the  holy  and 
bigoted  city  of  Meshed.  He  governed  the  intolerant 
population  with  such  success,  that  his  departure  was  the 
cause  of  general  regret. 

February  15th. — This  is  decidedly  an  odd  people.  The 
entire  nation  seems  to  be  in  debt,  commencing  with  the 
Shah,  who  is  in  debt  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  ending 
with  the  humblest  muleteer.  The  marvel  is  who  are  those 
that  lend  the  money ;  they,  it  may  be  conjectured,  being 
out  of  debt.  Every  man  of  rank  one  hears  of  seems  to  be 
in  the  same  predicament,  though  it  is  to  be  suspected  this 
poverty  is  often  feigned  to  escape  from  the  weighty  hand 
of  exaction.  To-day  Malik  Meerza  Beg,  our  na'ib  ferash 
bashee,  or  deputy-groom  of  the  chambers,  as  he  has 
dubbed  himself,  presented  himself  after  breakfast,  with 
suppliant  and  dolorous  looks ;  and,  coming  to  the  point, 
declared  his  debts  pressed  on  him  heavily,  and  that 


142  WIVES  AND  DEBTS.  CHAP.  IX. 

we  were  bound  to  help  him  by  a  loan  of  1  '21.  The 
pretexts  of  the  borrower  are  usually  either  he  had 
lately  taken  a  fresh  wife,  or  his  family  was  large,  his 
father  had  died,  the  wall  of  his  house  had  fallen,  the  roof 
leaked,  &c.  But  a  new  wife  is  the  prevailing  cause  of 
debt.  Our  butler  Mahommed  Agha,  not  long  after  enter- 
ing our  service,  took  a  second  helpmate  ;  after  due  time  his 
household  was  increased  by  a  third ;  and  at  length,  not 
having  neglected  the  opportunities  that  occurred  for  im- 
proving his  finances,  a  rumour  reached  us  that  a  fourth 
espousal  was  in  progress.  This  was  alarming,  as  all  these 
ladies  were  necessarily  to  live  at  our  cost ;  so  Mahommed 
Agha  was  warned  that  if  he  remained  with  us,  he  must 
not  anticipate  the  promised  number  of  houris  in  Paradise. 
Another  person,  as  heavily  oppressed  by  his  debts  and 
creditors  as  an  ancient  Roman  nobleman,  was  Suleiman 
Agha,  a  ferash  e  khelwet  (valet  de  chambre).  The 
cause  was  the  same  as  in  the  previous  instance.  At 
the  Aras  he  had  neglected  to  join  us,  being  more  agree- 
ably employed  in  taking  a  wife  at  Tabreez.  On  arriv- 
ing at  Tehran,  we  found  he  had  not  previously  been  a 
bachelor ;  but  he  hastened  to  make  himself  a  widower 
by  divorcing  his  wife  because  she  had  become  blind, 
and  then  speedily  took  another.  He  seemed  to  adopt 
the  precaution  of  having  a  wife  in  each  large  town; 
for  afterwards,  when  he  accompanied  us  to  Ispahan,  we 
found  that  there  also  a  wife  was  ready  to  relieve  his  lone- 
liness. The  whole  nation,  I  am  told — the  town  part  of  it, 
at  least — is  more  or  less  in  the  same  condition. 

The  customs  of  the  country  are  highly  encouraging  to 
lenders  of  money,  and  to  extended  views  of  matrimony. 


CHAP.  IX.  MATRIMONIAL  ENGAGEMENTS.  143 

Interest  of  any  kind  is  repudiated  by  the  precepts  of  Ma- 
homraed  ;  still  it  is  admitted  in  the  "  common  law."  Legal 
interest  is  limited  to  12  per  cent. ;  but  it  seldom  amounts 
to  less  than  25,  and  often  reaches  50,  60,  or  100  per  cent. 
A  clever  mode  has  been  adopted  of  cheating  the  law, 
which  would  not  recognize  the  validity  of  the  interest.  A 
person  borrowing  a  thousand  tomans,  at  25  per  cent,  in- 
terest, gives  a  promissory  note  for  1250  tomans,  as  if  that 
were  the  real  amount  lent.  I  am  informed  that  in  Eng- 
land devices  of  a  similar  nature  are  not  unknown. 

Matrimonial  engagements  are  of  two  kinds.  The  real 
marriage — the  one  looked  upon  as  respectable — is  confined 
to  four  wives,  and  is  called  akd.  This  is  permanent, 
unless  divorce  takes  place.  In  the  other  there  is  no  limit 
to  the  number  of  wives ;  but  then  the  period  of  the  en- 
gagement is  restricted,  and  never  exceeds  ninety  years. 
This  is  the  most  honourable  term  of  contract  in  the 
secondary,  or  seegha,  marriage  ;  but  even  this  unreachable 
period  does  not  place  the  seegha  e  neved  ?aleh  (ninety 
years)  on  a  level  with  the  akdee  wife.  Their  sons,  how- 
ever, are  on  an  equality  as  regards  station  and  everything 
else,  unless  one  of  the  wives  happens  to  be  of  the  reigning 
race  of  Kajjar,  or  of  a  rank  much  above  that  of  the  hus- 
band. A  man  of  station  chooses  the  akdee  wife  from  his 
own  class  in  life,  while  the  seeghas  are  from  an  inferior 
rank,  and  perform  menial  offices  for  the  former.  The 
marriage  ceremony  is  very  simple  :  the  family  of  the  bride- 
groom, with  a  moolla,  assemble  at  the  bride's  house ; 
behind  a  curtain  are  the  female  relations,  with  the  bride. 
The  moolla  asks  her  if  she  is  willing  to  marry  the  bride- 
groom elect;  and  after  a  long  delay  (which  is  a  point  of 


144  CONDITION  OF  CHAP.  IX. 

honour)  she  whispers,  Yes.  The  contract  is  then  signed 
and  registered,  and  sweetmeats  are  sent  to  the  bride.  In 
the  evening  she  is  conducted  in  procession,  with  pipes  and 
drums  and  all  her  worldly  goods,  to  her  husband's  house. 

The  lot  of  women  among  the  tribes,  and  among  the 
peasantry,  is  not,  from  all  I  hear,  an  unhappy  one.  Their 
interests  are  identified  with  their  husbands :  divorce  is 
rare ;  and  the  number  of  wives  does  not  often  exceed 
one.  In  the  towns  it  seems  to  be  otherwise.  If  they  are 
young,  handsome,  or  powerfully  connected,  matters  are 
tolerably  smooth.  But  when  the  wife  loses  her  personal 
attraction  she  often  sinks  down  to  a  household  drudge ; 
and  at  the  best  is  seldom  free  from  contention  with  her 
rivals  in  the  haram.  I  do  not  think  a  Persian  woman 
ever  feels  the  same  affection  for  her  husband  as  some 
Europeans  do.  But  when  a  rival  wife  is  introduced  into 
an  establishment  her  pin-money  is  decreased  at  Nowrooz 
(New  Year's  Day)  ;  her  allowance  for  new  clothes  for  her- 
self and  establishment  is  lessened  ;  her  children's  interests 
suffer,  if  she  has  any  ;  and  if  not,  perhaps  her  more  for- 
tunate rival  may  have  a  son ;  besides  a  variety  of  other 
annoyances.  Persian  women  seem  to  me  to  have  no 
idea  of  a  calm,  tranquil  life.  Novelty,  or  whatever 
causes  excitement,  is  what  they  seek,  and,  I  daresay,  they 
would  be  miserable  without  that  stimulus.  They  have 
not  strong  religious  or  moral  principle  ;  and  the  example 
of  their  husband  is  said  to  be  no  encouragement  to 
domestic  happiness. 

When  a  woman  happens  to  possess  unusual  talent,  or 
has  a  stronger  understanding  than  her  husband,  she  main- 
tains her  supremacy  to  the  last,  not  only  over  her  asso- 


Persian  Lady  in  Walking  Costume 


CHAP.  IX.  PERSIAN  WOMEN.  145 

ciate  wives,  but  over  her  husband,  his  purse,  and  property. 
I  have  heard  of  several  gentlemen  about  the  court  whose 
wives  would  not  suffer  either  the  introduction  of  other 
inmates  to  the  haram,  or  drinking-parties,  or  any  expen- 
diture excepting  on  the  most  narrow  scale.  One  of  our 
neighbours  was  a  merchant  who  possessed  a  temper  that 
led  him  into  frequent  and  noisy  quarrels  with  his  wives. 
The  ladies  seemed  perfectly  able  to  maintain  their  ground, 
as  far  as  words  went,  and  generally  so  overwhelmed  him 
with  abuse,  that  flight  or  a  beating  used  to  be  his  common 
resource.  I  remember  on  one  occasion  a  member  of  the 
mission  was  calling  on  a  former  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  on  some  business  in  which  certain  official  docu- 
ments required  to  be  sealed.  When  the  time  for  sealing 
arrived,  the  seals  were  missing ;  and  after  a  long  search  it 
was  discovered,  to  his  Excellency's  intense  confusion,  that 
they  had  been  carried  off  by  his  wife,  who  had  gone  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  Shah  Abdul  Azeem,  a  place  of  great  holi- 
ness and  resort  for  the  ladies  of  Tehran,  five  miles  from 
town. 

A  Persian  woman  of  the  upper  class  leads  a  life  of  idle- 
ness and  luxury,  though  rather  monotonous  according  to 
our  ideas  of  existence.  No  balls,  plays,  or  operas,  no 
dinners,  no  new  books,  no  watering-places,  no  Paris  or 
Rome,  diversify  the  ordinary  routine.  Like  the  men, 
talking,  gossip  and  scandal  are  the  occupation  of  their 
lives.  All  classes  enjoy  abundance  of  liberty,  more  so,  I 
think,  than  among  us.  The  complete  envelopment  of  the 
face  and  person  disguises  them  effectually  from  the  nearest 
relatives,  and  destroying,  when  convenient,  all  distinction  of 
rank,  gives  unrestrained  freedom.  The  bazars  are  crowded 

ii 


146  CONDITION  OF  CHAP.  IX. 

with  women  in  this  most  ungraceful  disguise.  The  weekly 
bath  and  constant  visits  consume  a  large  share  of  their 
time ;  and  Thursday  afternoon  is  devoted  to  a  mock  pil- 
grimage to  some  shrine  outside  the  town,  or  else  to  the 
grave  of  some  relation.  It  was  curious  to  meet  a  lady  of 
rank  on  an  occasion  of  this  kind,  mounted  en  cavalier  on 
a  tall  Toorkoman  horse,  which  she  managed  with  skill. 
Her  female  attendants  surrounded  her,  riding  in  the  same 
style  ;  and  her  other  servants  remained  at  a  short  distance, 
some  in  front,  and  some  behind.  If  no  Persians  were  too 
near,  they  made  little  scruple  of  raising  their  veils,  for  the 
indulgence  of  our  and  their  own  curiosity.  Women  of  the 
higher  classes  frequently  acquire  a  knowledge  of  reading 
and  writing,  and  of  the  choice  poetical  works  in  their 
native  language ;  as  well  as  of  the  art  of  reading,  though, 
perhaps,  not  of  understanding,  the  Koran.  In  the  royal 
family,  in  particular,  and  among  the  ladies  of  the  tribe  of 
Kajjar,  these  accomplishments  are  so  common  that  they 
themselves  conduct  their  correspondence  without  the  cus- 
tomary aid  of  a  meerza,  or  secretary.  Cooking,  or  at  least 
its  superintendence,  is  another  of  their  pastimes,  especially 
among  the  Kajjar  ladies.  One  of  the  princesses,  whose 
husband  was  of  similar  rank,  and  was  on  intimate  terms 
of  acquaintance  with  my  husband,  used  frequently  to  send 
me  savoury  dishes  at  our  dinner-hour.  An  intimation 
always  accompanied  the  viands,  of  their  being  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  "  Shazadeh  Khanum,"  the  lady  princess,  herself. 
Sometimes  a  very  young  lamb,  roasted  whole,  decked  with 
flowers,  with  a  rich  stuffing  of  chesnuts  or  pistachios, 
would  appear  as  our  piece  dc  resistance ;  or  else  dolma, 
which  consists  of  cabbages  or  oranges  stuffed  with  forced- 


CHAP.  IX.  PERSIAN  WOMEN.  147 

meat.  The  latter  is  an  achievement  in  the  culinary  art. 
The  confectionary,  which  is  the  test  of  a  lady's  proficiency 
in  gastronomic  science,  was  of  great  variety,  and  exceed- 
ingly good.  Persian  confectionary,  in  general,  is  seldom 
entitled  to  any  praise ;  for,  though  endless  in  exterior 
variety,  it  has  only  one  flavour,  that  of  sugar.  Persian 
ladies  are  accused  of  indulging  to  excess  in  exciting 
beverages,  by  which  I  mean  those  contrary  to  the  religious 
law.  I  myself  never  saw  the  slightest  approach  to  any- 
thing of  the  kind ;  and  I  am  disposed  to  believe  there 
is  no  foundation  for  the  accusation.  Of  all  places  in  the 
world  Tehran  is  the  most  addicted  to  scandal  and  detrac- 
tion :  they  are  its  pastime  and  its  business.  I  must 
confess,  however,  that  I  once  saw  a  princess,  during  a  visit, 
with  a  special  teapot  by  her  side,  out  of  the  spout  of  which 
she  drank  from  time  to  time.  No  one  could  tell  what  it 
contained.  She  herself  declared  it  was  physic. 

The  above  is  Persian  female  life  in  its  best  aspect.  If 
looked  at  in  its  worst,  I  am  sure  fearful  tragedies  and 
scenes  of  horror  would  be  revealed.  Power  in  the  anderoon 
is  nearly  despotic.  An  immense  deal  of  cruelty,  even  mur- 
der itself,  can  be  committed  in  the  haram,  without  any 
atonement.  A  needy,  harsh,  disappointed,  profligate  man, 
responsible  to  no  one,  often  wreaks  his  temper  on  the  per- 
sons least  capable  of  resistance.  But  he,  too,  is  often  the 
sufferer  by  his  severities.  An  ill-treated  slave,  male  or 
female,  sometimes  one  of  his  wives,  will  administer  a  potion, 
and  terminate  his  career — perhaps  without  designing  so 
tragical  a  result.  Detection  is  not  easy,  and  many  deaths 
are  attributed  to  the  practices  of  the  anderoon.  When  a 
woman  finds  herself  neglected  and  cast  aside,  and  that  she 

H  2 


148  LOVE-POTIONS.  CHAP.  IX. 

has  ceased  to  please,  she  sometimes  has  recourse  to  in- 
cantations and  endeavours  to  bewitch  her  hushand.  She 
decks  herself,  and,  if  possible,  him,  with  charms  and  talis- 
mans ;  she  presents  nazr — as  an  offering  to  God  or  to  any 
of  the  prophets  or  saints  is  called — of  a  sheep,  or  anything 
else  (like  the  Jews  of  old),  which  is  afterwards  distributed 
among  the  poor.  I  may  mention  that  Imam  Hoossein 
is  the  special  favourite  of  the  women  in  Persia.  An  old 
woman  in  my  service  once  told  me  she  cared  very  little 
for  Mahommed,  as  she  irreverently  called  him,  but  that 
she  had  a  deep  affection  for  Imam  Hoossein.  No  doubt 
her  attachment  was  founded  on  the  scenic  representation 
of  his  sufferings  she  had  annually  seen  at  the  Tazeea.  If 
Imam  Hoossein,  or  whatever  patron  the  forlorn  dame  may 
have  adopted,  should  not  yield  to  her  supplications,  she 
then  has  recourse  to  a  love-potion.  I  do  not  know  all  the 
ingredients  of  which  this  compound  is  formed  ;  but  incan- 
tation enters  in  a  large  degree  into  its  preparation.  One 
of  the  Persian  secretaries  of  the  mission  told  me  it 
was  made  of  all  sorts  of  horrible  things,  one  of  which,  I 
remember,  was  a  frog.  Not  seldom,  however,  the  dose 
is  too  powerful,  and  puts  an  end  to  the  patient's  worldly 
cares  for  ever.  I  mentioned  before  that  Suleiman  Agha, 
one  of  our  servants,  urged  as  a  plea  for  one  of  his  unceas- 
ing divorces  that  his  "  burnt  father  "  of  a  wife  (meaning 
that  his  wife's  father  was  burning)  had  on  a  certain  occa- 
sion nearly  killed  him,  by  administering  a  love-draught. 
The  very  memory  of  it  seemed  to  renew  all  his  horror, 
quite  forgetting  the  ill-treatment  which  had  provoked  her 
to  seek  help  in  this  dangerous  remedy.  The  grand  ambi- 
tion of  every  married  woman  is  to  have  several  sons,  as 


CHAP.  IX.  MORTALITY  AMONG  CHILDREN.  149 

through  them  she  is  secured  consideration  and  a  provision 
in  advanced  years.  Daughters,  as  usual,  count  as  nothing. 
The  mortality  among  children  is  immense,  owing  to 
neglect,  ignorance,  and  laziness.  I  remember  a  little 
prince,  of  eight  years  of  age,  who  came  to  see  my  chil- 
dren. His  stockings  dropped  into  a  pool  of  water,  and 
his  nurse  made  him  wear  them  wrhen  quite  wet.  He  is 
since  dead,  and  this  is  the  fate  of  all  weak  and  delicate 
children.  None  but  the  strong  children  survive  ;  and  the 
result  is  that  the  Persians,  though  few  in  number,  are 
strong,  stout,  and  hardy.  The  population  of  Persia  is 
supposed  not  to  increase ;  nor  with  causes  like  these  in 
operation  could  it  well  do  so.  Dr.  Cloquet,  the  Shah's 
French  physician,  son  and  nephew  of  the  two  famous  sur- 
geons of  the  same  name,  expressed  to  me  his  conviction 
that  not  above  three  children  in  ten  outlived  their  third 
year.  Ladies,  of  even  moderate  wealth  and  station,  never 
nurse  their  children,  and  do  not  seem  to  care  for  them 
when  they  are  very  young.  Afterwards  they  are  affec- 
tionate mothers.  These  nurses  have  a  habit  of  quieting 
their  charge,  and  their  own  children  too,  with  bits  of 
opium,  of  a  size  which  our  own  doctor  assured  me  was 
quite  astounding. 

Among  the  Persians  an  odd  system  of  nomenclature 
for  their  wives  is  commonly  adopted.  Instead  of  using 
their  names,  they  avoid  doing  so ;  and  when  addressing  or 
speaking  of  their  wives,  they  designate  them  by  the  name 
of  the  wife's  eldest  son.  Thus,  instead  of  saying  Zoo- 
leikha,  for  instance,  he  will  call  her  Mader  e  Ali,  mother 
of  Ali.  Khanum  (lady)  is,  however,  the  term  preferred. 
The  Sadr  Azim,  or  Prime  Minister,  I  am  told,  always 


150  PECULIAR  ASSEYERATI  OX.  CHAP.  IX. 

talks  of  his  wife,  who  is  his  cousin,  under  the  designation 
of  Dookhter  e  Amooiim  (my  uncle's  daughter).  But  his 
Excellency  is  somewhat  peculiar  in  his  phraseology.  When- 
ever he  ascends  to  the  regions  of  high  diplomacy  (where- 
ever  they  may  be),  his  favourite  and  incessant  assevera- 
tion is,  Eeh  marg  e  Kassim  (By  the  death  of  Kassira !). 
Kassim  is  his  eldest  son. 


CHAP.  X.  NOWROOZ.  151 


CHAPTEE  X. 

Approach  of  Nowrooz  —  Dunning  derveeshes  —  Ceremonial  of  the  Now- 
rooz  —  Her  Majesty's  birthday  —  Entertainment  to  Persians  — • 
Wines  of  Sheeraz  and  Ispahan  —  Dinner  on  a  large  scale  —  Migration 
to  the  hills  —  Value  of  water  —  Our  encampment  —  The  Mission 
village  —  Sanctuary  —  Miraculous  cow  —  Refugees  in  the  Missions  — 
Civil  and  criminal  law. 

March  Wth. — No wnooz  (New  Year's  Day)  is  approaching. 

Colonel  S wished  to-day  to  visit  the  Prime  Minister, 

but  he  was  informed  that  his  Excellency  was  busily  en- 
gaged in  selecting  shawls.  The  Shah  on  the  22nd  of  this 
month  bestows  on  all  his  courtiers  some  mark  of  his 
bounty  :  Cashmere  shawls  to  those  of  high  rank ;  descend- 
ing thence  in  a  sliding-scale  to  cloth  coats  and  spangled 
muslin.  It  is  a  heavy  tax  on  his  Majesty,  who,  however, 
it  may  be  conjectured,  finds  compensation  elsewhere. 
Though  the  splendour  of  the  Nowrooz  has  decayed,  and 
the  value  of  the  gifts  has  decreased,  the  total  abrogation 
of  this  ancient  national  festival  would  scarcely  be  politic. 
It  is  a  season  of  general  festivity.  The  Persians  have 
been  more  rational  than  we  in  this  matter.  Instead  of 
choosing  the  winter  solstice  for  its  celebration,  they  have 
selected  the  moment  when  the  sun  is  entering  the  northern 
hemisphere  for  marking  the  commencement  of  the  year. 
On  the  22nd  of  March  every  family,  attired  in  new  gar- 
ments, is  seated  at  the  dinner-cloth  (there  being  no 


152  A  DUNNING  DERVEESH.  CHAP.  X. 

table),  which  is  covered  with  food,  according  to  the  means 
of  the  master  of  the  household.  A  large  basin  of  water 
is  placed  in  the  centre,  which,  when  the  sun  crosses  the 
equator,  is  supposed  to  be  ruffled  by  the  jerk  the  earth 
receives  in  consequence.  At  that  moment  they  all  embrace 
and  wish  each  other  a  happy  new  year ;  they  then  partake 
of  food.  There  is  a  simplicity  and  appearance  of  affec- 
tion in  this  ceremony  at  variance  with  the  character  of 
Persians. 

About  this  time  I  was  crossing  one  day  to  the  garden 
on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  when  I  heard  a  loud  voice 
exclaim,  "  Hoo ;  Allah  Taala  ;  Khooda  Vezeer  e  Mookh- 
tarpaedar  kooned,  khooda  khanumra  omrdihed  ! "  (He  is 
the  great  God  ;  God  preserve  the  Vezeer  Mookhtar ;  God 
preserve  the  Khanum !)  These  were  the  sounds  uttered 
by  a  wild-looking  derveesh,  seated  in  a  tent  four  feet  high, 
and  the  same  in  length,  which  was  pitched  under  the 
garden  wall.  By  his  side  he  had  sown  a  field  of  wheat, 
about  a  yard  square,  as  a  hint,  that  if  he  were  not  re- 
moved by  a  consideration,  he  would  remain  until  the 
wheat  was  fit  for  the  sickle  and  cut ;  screaming  "  Hoo, 
hak  "  incessantly,  and  blowing  on  his  cow's  horn.  But 
our  derveesh  was  too  friendly  and  polite  for  any  such 
extremities.  It  turned  out  that  this  was  a  tax  annually 
levied  on  the  respectable  householders  of  Tehran.  I  saw 
another  of  the  fraternity  at  the  Russian  Minister's  door, 
and  various  others  encamped  at  the  houses  of  the  people 
of  the  city,  each  with  his  field  of  wheat.  They  get  their 
presents,  and  then  depart.  I  am  told  that  a  few  years 
ago  there  was  one  of  this  brotherhood,  named  Lootee  Ali, 
Buffoon  Ali,  or  Derveesh  Ali,  who  used  to  bestow  in  the 


CHAP.  X.  NOWEOOZ.  1 53 

utmost  good  humour  the  most  dreadful  abuse  on  every 
one  he  met,  from  the  Shah,  with  whom  he  was  a  great 
favourite,  downwards.  He  gained  a  great  deal  of  money, 
which  he  spent  entirely  in  charity.  Their  pertinacity  in 
extortion  is  said  to  be  marvellous.  I  remember  hearing 
of  a  very  mad,  opium-eating,  chers-  or  bang-consuming 
derveesh,  who  demanded  a  large  sum  from  the  English 
Resident  at  Bushire,  which  the  latter  refused.  The  holy 
brother  said  nothing,  but  looked  iniquity.  He  planted 
himself  at  the  gate,  and  planted  the  wheat  too,  close  under 
the  staff  where  the  English  flag  used  to  fly.  For  three 
days  he  remained  silent.  On  the  fourth  he  exclaimed, 
"  Hak,  hak,"  in  a  loud  monotonous  voice,  and  main- 
tained that  cry  almost  incessantly  day  and  night,  for 
three  days,  without  any  symptom  of  yielding  on  either 
side.  I  ought  to  remark,  that  to  use  violence  for  his 
expulsion  would  have  been  injudicious.  On  the  fourth 
day  the  derveesh  drew  forth  his  horn,  and,  alternating 
between  it  and  the  everlasting  "  Hak,  hak ! "  the  Resi- 
dent was  reduced  to  despair,  and  almost  to  yielding.  At 
last  he  remembered  that  his  flagstaff  required  washing. 
In  a  short  time  ten  or  fifteen  seamen,  summoned  from  a 
man-of-war  in  the  roads,  were  mounted  on  the  flagstaff, 
with  an  abundant  supply  of  buckets  of  water.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  flagstaff  was  well  washed,  and  the  derveesh 
too,  and  put  to  flight  in  discomfiture. 

March  22,  Nowrooz. — Every  one  in  new  garments  to- 
day. The  whole  of  the  servants  of  the  Mission,  some 
sixty  or  seventy  in  number,  arrayed  in  large  new  cloaks 
of  English  cloth — so  called  at  least,  having  English  stamps 
and  marks  on  it,  though  shrewdly  suspected  not  to  be  of 

H    3 


154  THE  SHAH.  CHAP.  X. 

English  parentage.  They  looked  exceedingly  well.  At 
nine  o'clock  one  of  the  staff  of  the  Foreign  Office,  con- 
ducting some  twenty  ferashes  laden  with  immense  trays 
containing  sugarloaves,  sugarcandy,  and  sweetmeats, 
presented  himself  to  offer  the  good  wishes  of  the  Shah  for 
the  coming  year.  At  noon  all  the  Missions  waited  on  his 
Majesty,  to  offer  congratulations  on  the  part  of  their 
sovereigns.  As  they  had  a  private  audience  for  this  pur- 
pose previously  to  the  grand  salam  or  levee,  there  is  little 
to  describe.  His  Majesty  is  seated  in  full  costume,  half 
Persian,  half  European,  loaded  with  the  most  costly 
jewellery,  his  enormous  jewelled  crown,  and  sword  blazing 
with  diamonds  from  hilt  to  point,  lying  by  his  side,  wait- 
ing for  the  admission  of  the  public  before  undergoing  the 
fatigue  of  bearing  the  weighty  diadem.  As  his  Majesty 
is  in  the  highest  degree  affable  and  condescending,  and 
abounds  in  agreeable  conversation,  as  a  Persian  king 
ought  to  do,  half  his  life  being  spent  in  talking,  the  audi- 
ence passes  off  highly  satisfactorily.  In  the  afternoon  a 
fine  elephant  belonging  to  the  king,  accompanied  by  his 
keeper  and  some  musicians,  came  to  wish  us  a  happy  new 
year.  He  entered  the  low  gateway  into  the  lawn  on  his 
knees,  and  performed  sundry  evolutions ;  he  then  got  his 
present,  and  went  away.  The  day  after  Nowrooz  the 
labour  of  the  season  began,  and  continued  for  a  week 
subsequently.  Every  acquaintance  of  the  Minister  of 
suitable  rank  must  be  visited ;  the  days  are  spent  in 
visits,  and  every  visit  produces  its  deluge  of  tea,  coffee, 
and  pipes  (water  pipes).  Then  come  the  bazdeed,  the 
return  visits,  with  a  repetition  of  the  same  sufferings. 
Altogether  a  good  constitution  is  requisite;  but,  as 


CHAP.  X.  THE  QUEEN'S  BIRTHDAY.  155 

my  husband  used  to  maintain,  it  was  necessary  to  do 
something  once  a  year  for  the  good  of  her  Majesty's 
service. 

Now  begins  the  glorious  weather  of  Persia,  lasting 
until  the  middle  of  May,  when  it  becomes  a  great  deal  too 
hot.  In  April  the  nightingales  commence  their  songs,  and 
the  rose-trees  begin  to  open  their  blossoms.  Our  garden 
abounded  in  the  former,  who  used  to  beguile  the  entire 
night  with  their  minstrelsy.  But  I  leave  these  things  to 
the  imagination,  which  is  much  more  potent  than  the  pen 
— than  mine  at  least. 

May  24^. — This  was  another  day  of  fatigue,  in  tea  and 
coffee  drinking,  in  honour  of  her  Majesty's  birthday.  From 
an  early  hour  visitors  poured  in  to  offer  their  congratula- 
tions, and  among  them  two  officers  in  full  court  costume, 
on  the  part  of  the  Shah  and  the  Prime  Minister,  to  convey 
their  congratulations  on  the  auspicious  occasion.  In  the 
full-dress  of  the  court,  the  tall  black  lambskin  cap  is 
changed  for  a  turban  of  shawl ;  and  in  place  of  the  stock- 
ings without  shoes,  on  entering  the  room  a  pair  of  red 
cloth  boots  reaching  to  the  knee  is  worn.  I  suppose  the 
latter  is  a  substitute  for  the  heavy  Tartar  boot  worn  at 
the  courts  of  the  Moghul  sovereigns.  It  was  upon  me, 
however,  that  the  heavier  toil  of  the  day  fell.  At  night 
there  was  a  dinner-party  of  thirty-six  persons  to  celebrate 
the  event,  and  wish  prosperity  to  the  sovereign  of  England. 
When  it  is  considered  that  the  attendants  were  all  Per- 
sians, and  that  everything  is  conducted  as  like  Europe  as 
possible,  it  may  be  imagined  what  time  and  labour  were 
expended  in  drilling  the  Diggories  of  the  Mission.  The 
labour  was  certainly  great,  yet  I  never  was  reduced  to 
such  extremity  as  a  lady  in  Tehran,  who  was  on  such 


1 56  EETIXIJE    OF  DOGS.  CHAP.  X. 

occasions  forced  to  aid  in  dressing  the  dinner  herself. 
Twelve  of  the  guests  were  Persian  gentlemen  ;  and  as 
in  Persian  estimation  a  solemn  dinner  is  incomplete  unless 
the  fare  is  exceedingly  in  excess ;  and  farther,  as  the 
numerous  retinue  of  servants  accompanying  each  Persian 
expects  a  share  in  the  feast,  it  may  be  imagined  what  an 
undertaking  an  entertainment  of  this  kind  is  in  Tehran. 
To  complete  the  matter,  I  was  excluded  from  the  banquet 
in  consequence  of  the  presence  of  the  Persian  gentlemen. 
I  gladly,  therefore,  spent  my  solitary  evening,  resting 
after  the  heat  and  toil  of  the  day,  shut  up  in  my  anderoon, 
surrounded  by  a  retinue  of  dogs,  who  would  not  have 
been  more  out  of  place  than  myself,  and  who  were  greatly 
disturbed  by  the  distant  sounds  of  the  band  playing  God 
save  the  Queen,  which  it  continued  to  do  for  four  or  five 
hours,  only  varying  occasionally  with  the  beautiful  Rus- 
sian air  of  God  preserve  the  Emperor.  It  was  really 
amusing  to  see  the  deference  these  dogs  showed  poor 
Crab.  Greyhounds,  pointers,  &c.,  would  fall  flat  when 
he  sprang  at  them,  if  he  thought  they  monopolised  too 
much  of  my  attention.  There  was  one  rugged  fellow  we 
called  Diver,  who  arrived  from  Asterabad  with  some 
European  travellers.  He  approved  apparently  of  our 
mode  of  living,  for  he  hid  himself  in  an  empty  room  in 
the  Mission  for  two  days  after  their  departure,  and  re- 
mained with  us  ever  since.  One  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Mission  afterwards  happened  to  visit  Asterabad,  and  saw 
a  numerous  independent  connexion  of  Diver's,  who  sup- 
ported themselves  by  going  into  the  sea  and  eating  the 
small  fish  they  managed  to  catch.  1  should  perhaps 
apologise  for  writing  at  all  about  our  dogs,  but  they  were 
so  much  of  companions  to  me  in  Persia,  I  cannot  avoid 


CHAP.  X.  PERSIAN  WINES.  157 

recurring  to  them.  To  return  to  the  banquet ;  it  was 
kept  up  till  a  late  hour.  Persians,  I  am  told,  delight  in 
champagne,  next  to  brandy.  On  these  public  occasions, 
however,  the  most  confirmed  topers  refrain  from  touching 
wine,  lest  in  a  promiscuous  assembly  of  their  countrymen 
their  reputation  might  suffer  damage  from  evil  report. 
But  I  hear  that  some  among  them  retired  to  a  quiet 
nook  with  one  or  two  trusty  boon  companions — 

"  They  had  been  fou  for  weeks  thegither  " — 

where  they  made  amends  by  quaffing  champagne  and 
sherry  in  tumblers. 

Persians  are  extremely  fond  of  European  wines,  still 
none  among  them,  even  the  richest,  are  willing  to  undergo 
the  expense  of  its  conveyance  from  Europe.  They  satisfy 
themselves  with  the  thin  growths  of  their  own  vineyards, 
quantity  compensating  for  quality.  In  almost  all  the 
chief  towns  a  great  deal  of  wine  is  manufactured,  and 
certainly  not  intended  for  the  sole  consumption  of  Arme- 
nians. That  of  Sheeraz  has,  of  course,  a  wide  reputation, 
and  the  wine  of  Ispahan  is  thought  not  much  inferior.  I 
remember  an  Englishman  imposing  with  success  as  choice 
Burgundy,  a  bottle  of  the  latter  on  a  party  of  European 
connoisseurs.  Still  I  am  told  the  wines  of  Persia  are  far 
from  being  wholesome,  either  from  imperfect  manufacture, 
or  from  being  used  too  soon.  There  seems  to  be  no 
reason  why  a  country  abounding  in  the  choicest  grapes 
should  be  unable  to  produce  good  wine.  The  manufac- 
ture is  of  the  coarsest  kind,  and,  one  would  think,  an 
antidote  to  excess.  The  bunches  are  collected  without 
any  selection,  or  the  removal  of  the  unsound  grapes,  and 


158  CELEBEATION  OF  CHAP.  X. 

thrown  into  a  heap,  stalks  and  all,  and  the  juice  is  ex- 
tracted by  the  pressure  of  naked  feet. 

On  the  birthday  of  their  sovereigns,  the  foreign  repre- 
sentatives endeavour  to  celebrate  the  occasion  with  as 
much  display  as  the  country  admits  of.  An  exhibition 
of  fireworks  was  generally  the  mode  in  which  the  Russian 
Mission  sought  notoriety.  Some  years  ago,  before  my 
arrival  in  Persia,  my  husband  thought  of  a  somewhat 
novel  expedient  for  imparting  celebrity  to  her  Majesty's 
birthday.  This  was  to  give  a  dinner  to  all  the  beggars 
in  Tehran  on  the  24th  of  May.  It  appears  to  have  been 
an  extraordinary  scene,  as  described  to  me  by  one  of  the 
gentlemen  of  the  Mission.  The  feast  was  put  under  the 
management  of  one  of  the  Persian  secretaries.  He  caused 
a  number  of  large  tents,  without  their  walls,  to  be  pitched 
in  a  spacious  piece  of  ground  adjoining  the  garden,  where 
the  horses  used  to  be  exercised.  He  then  hired  a  number 
of  cooks,  and  a  collection  of  enormous  cauldrons,  five  or 
six  feet  wide,  and  the  same  in  depth ;  which  were  placed 
on  blazing  fires  close  to  the  tents.  Something  like  a  flock 
of  sheep  was  purchased.  Notice  was  sent  to  the  beggars, 
that  at  twelve  o'clock  on  the  24th  dinner  would  be  ready. 
Long  before  the  time  every  avenue  was  crowded  with 
the  blind,  the  lame,  the  infirm,  and  the  various  extra- 
ordinary objects  with  which  Tehran  is  crowded.  The 
gates  were  opened,  a  rush  was  made,  and  in  a  moment 
the  enclosure  was  filled.  The  dinner  consisted  of  pillaos 
of  mutton  and  rice,  bread,  and  sugar  sherbet,  that  is,  eau 
sucree ;  and  the  rule  was,  that  each  person,  having  eaten 
to  repletion,  was  to  depart  by  another  gate.  Nothing 
could  exceed  the  confusion  and  contention  and  clamours 


CHAP.  X.  HER  MAJESTY'S  BIRTHDAY.  159 

for  admittance.  The  walls  were  scaled,  and  the  gates 
nearly  burst  open.  The  uproar  was  compared  to  a  town 
taken  by  assault.  Those  inside,  the  women  especially, 
filled  their  pockets,  and  said  they  had  not  had  enough ; 
and  when  driven  out  at  one  gate,  they  went  round  and 
entered  as  fresh  visitors  at  the  other,  making  a  new  attack 
on  the  eatables.  The  dinner-party  to  the  beggars  was 
converted  into  an  entertainment  to  all  the  workmen  and 
small  tradesmen  and  tradeswomen  in  the  neighbourhood. 
So  great  and  unexpected  was  the  crowd,  that  the  supplies 
ran  low,  and  purchases  were  obliged  to  be  made  at  the 
cook-shops  in  the  bazar.  All  were  at  length  filled,  and 
the  crowd  by  slow  degrees  departed.  Seven  thousand 
was  the  number,  according  to  Persian  computation,  M'hich 
by  English  calculation  may  be  reduced  to  less  than  half. 
The  feast  had  certainly  reached  an  unexpected  magnitude, 
but  the  object  aimed  at  was,  I  conjecture  gained,  for  a  great 
sensation  was  produced.  If  Persian  benedictions  could 
serve  her  Majesty,  she  had  them  to  satiety  from  each  guest 
who  partook  of  the  pillaos.  The  succeeding  year  the  feast 
was  renewed,  with  the  precaution  of  placing  a  strong  guard 
of  soldiers  at  each  gate,  and  another  in  the  middle  of  the 
enclosure. 

May  25th. — Notwithstanding  that  we  are  more  than 
three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  sun's 
rays  have  acquired  intense  heat,  and  it  is  time  to  make 
an  exodus  to  the  mountains,  which  our  great  dinner 
alone  prevented  us  from  doing  before.  The  Shah,  with 
a  large  portion  of  the  court,  has  already  left  the  city, 
and  gone  to  reside  in  one  of  his  summer  or  garden 
houses,  near  the  walls,  and  by-and-by  he  will  move  up 


160  VALUE  OF  WATER.  CHAP.  X. 

to  the  mountains.  Next  month  nearly  half  the  inhabitants 
will  have  emigrated  to  avoid  the  heat  and  the  unhealthy 
atmosphere  of  Tehran.  This  capital  has  nothing  what- 
ever in  its  favour.  It  is  situated  in  a  desolate  plain,  ten 
miles  to  the  south  of  the  Elboorz  range  of  mountains, 
which  run  from  west  to  east.  It  is  supposed  to  contain 
80,000  inhabitants  in  winter.  The  above  beautiful  range 
of  mountains,  crowned  with  the  magnificent  peak  of 
Demawend,  saves  Tehran  from  being  one  of  the  most 
frightful  places  in  the  world.  It  contains  fine  bazars, 
constructed  by  the  late  Prime  Minister,  and  a  good  deal 
of  trade  converges  here  from  the  four  quarters  of  Persia. 
There  are  no  buildings  of  note,  excepting  the  chief 
mosque,  and  water  is  so  bad  and  so  scarce,  that  the 
portion  required  for  drinking  is  brought  daily  from  a 
distance  by  all  those  who  can  afford  it. 

May  27th. — We  had  to-day  a  specimen  of  the  value 
of  water  in  Persia.  The  two  Gebr  gardeners,  with  three 
Persian  soldiers  of  the  guard  at  the  gate  of  the  Mission, 
rushed  towards  the  room  we  were  sitting  in.  One  of  the 
former  had  a  large  bunch  of  his  beard  in  his  hand,  which 
he  stretched  out  at  arm's  length.  One  of  the  soldiers 
held  a  handkerchief  to  his  mouth,  as  if  indicating  the 
loss  of  a  tooth,  and  all  had  their  shirts  and  inner  vests 
torn  open  at  the  neck,  which  among  Persians  is  an  un- 
failing sign  of  woe,  as  among  the  Israelites  of  old.  The 
Gebrs  are  a  stolid  immoveable  race,  but  this  was  an 
opportunity  for  emotion  not  to  be  neglected.  The  Father 
of  the  beard,  as  an  Arab  would  say,  Ardesheer,  was  spokes- 
man :  "  Kooshteh  shudem,  moordem ! — I  am  killed,  I 
am  dead !  Is  this  the  way  to  treat  the  Vezeer  e  Mookh- 


CHAP.  X.  VALUE  OF  WATER.  161 

tar's  gardener  ?  "  &c.  Tehran  is  dependent  for  its  supply 
of  water,  in  part  on  wells,  of  which  the  water  is  exceed- 
ingly bad  and  unwholesome,  and  in  part  on  various 
kanats  which  have  been  conducted  into  the  city.  Two  days 
and  two  nights  of  each  week  are  allotted  for  supplying  the 
extensive  gardens  and  premises  of  the  Mission  with  water 
from  one  of  these  kanats.  But  as  the  stream  enters  on 
the  north  side  of  the  city,  while  we  resided  exactly  at 
the  south  side,  it  has  to  pass  through  the  ordeal  of  a  mile 
and  a  half  among  thirsty  Tehranees  before  it  reaches  the 
Mission.  It  is  consequently  necessary  to  station  guards 
at  intervals  to  watch  its  safe  progress  through  the  town. 
All  sorts  of  schemes  are  in  request  to  waylay  the  water. 
When  a  watchman  is  absent,  or  remiss,  or  bribed,  the 
stream  is  turned  out  of  its  course,  and  every  one  helps 
himself  or  fills  his  cistern.  At  another  time  everything 
seems  correct ;  no  impediment  occurs  to  the  water,  yet 
none  of  it  reaches  the  Mission.  The  cunning  Iranees 
have  bored  channels  underground  from  their  houses  to 
the  stream,  and  thus  purloined  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
water.  Knowing  the  urgent  wants  of  the  citizens,  these 
peculations  would  have  been  overlooked  ;  but  very  often, 
as  in  the  present  instance,  the  theft  was  supported  by 
main  force,  leading  to  blows  and  a  battle,  in  which  the 
Mission  guards  and  servants,  being  the  weaker  party, 
generally  fared  ill.  Then  followed  demands  for  punish- 
ment, in  exacting  which  it  was  necessary  to  be  pertina- 
cious, if  only  to  save  her  Majesty's  Mission  from  dying 
of  thirst.  What  made  these  beatings  of  the  servants 
more  provoking  was  the  donation  in  free  gift  to  the 
citizens  by  Colonel  S of  the  whole  of  the  water  to 


162  ENCAMPMEXT.  CHAP.  X. 

which  he  was  entitled  by  right.  He  even  nominated  a 
meerab,  lord  of  the  water,  to  superintend  its  ftiir  distribu- 
tion through  the  different  streets.  For  my  part,  I  believe 
that  this  dignified  appointment  only  led  to  the  enrichment 
of  his  lordship,  who  sold  the  water  to  the  best  bidder ;  he 
would  be  a  strange  Persian  if  he  did  not.  As  I  before 
mentioned,  the  villagers  contend  for  the  possession  of 
streams  of  water  in  the  same  manner,  but  with  much 
more  fierceness ;  their  crops  being  often  dependent  for 
irrigation  on  the  result  of  the  combat.  These  kanats  lead 
to  other  causes  of  quarrel.  If  a  man  in  authority  who 
has  constructed  one  of  these  beneficent  works  happens 
to  lead  his  kanat  in  the  direction  of  that  of  his  weaker 
neighbour,  his  charitable  views  become  so  comprehensive, 
that  he  seldom  hesitates  to  undermine  and  carry  off  the 
whole  of  the  water  into  his  own  channel.  A  fight  follows, 
either  on  the  spot  or  before  the  Kazee,  in  both  cases  the 
result  being  much  the  same. 

May  2$th. — We  have  encamped  at  the  Mission  village 
of  Goolahek,  seven  miles  from  town,  near  the  foot  of 
Elboorz,  and  3800  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Ours 
is  certainly  a  camp  on  a  large  scale.  We  have  sleeping- 
tents,  nursery-tents,  and  my  private  sitting-room-tent, 
all  enclosed  in  a  high  wall  of  canvas,  and  forming  the 
anderoon.  Then  detached  are  the  dining-tent,  drawing- 
room-tent,  and  tents  for  each  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Mission.  To  me  it  looks  very  magnificent,  yet  I  am  told 
it  is  paltry  in  comparison  with  the  good  old  times  that 
are  gone.  From  the  size  of  these  tents,  some  of  them 
being  thirty  feet  in  length,  their  double  roofs  and  double 
walls  several  feet  apart,  I  had  anticipated  a  comfortable 


CHAP.  X.  INTENSE  HEAT.  163 

residence  during  the  summer.     But  I  am  disappointed 
beyond  measure ;  the  dust  and  the  heat  being  intolerable, 
in  spite  of  a  stream  of  water  which  I  had  caused  to  flow 
through  my  tent.     The  Russian  Mission  is  encamped  at 
another  village,  half  a  mile  distant.    The  Shah  has  moved 
up  to  his  summer-palace  at  Niaveran,  close  under  the 
hills,  and  the  whole  country  is  covered  with  white  tents 
and  encampments.     We  are  now  in  the  district  of  Sha- 
miran,  which,  I  am  told,  is  the  equivalent  of  Semiramis. 
The  villages    are   surrounded  with  fruit-trees  of  every 
description,  particularly  white  mulberries,  of  which  the 
Persians    eat   enormous   quantities :    indeed   their  con- 
sumption of  every  kind  of  fruit  is  prodigious.     The  camp- 
life  is  still  more  monotonous  than  that  of  the  town ;  the 
distances  being  much  greater,  visits  and  gossip  are  rarer. 
It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  from  nine  to  ten  in  the 
morning  seems  to  be  the  hottest  part  of  the  day,  hotter 
even  than  two  o'clock.     The  heat  is  so  intense  that  it  is 
impossible  to  move  out  until  the  sun  has  actually  set,  and 
even  then  the  ground  is  reeking  with  heat.      At  that 
hour  we  mount  our  horses,  and  take  a  slow  languid  ride 
about  the  hills  and  villages.    Darkness  so  quickly  follows 
sunset  that  the  ride  is  a  short  one.     Walking  is  out  of 
the  question.     Decidedly  Persia  is  not  a  country  to  select 
as  a  residence  from  choice.     Neither  can  it  be  healthy  ; 
for  though  the  natives  are  strong  and  stout,  as  negroes 
are  in  the  most  pestiferous  swamps  of  Africa,  still  one 
sees  extremely  few  persons  of  very  advanced  years.  Nearly 
all  the  Europeans  at  Tehran  seem  delicate ;  the  Russians 
appear  to  bear  the  climate  best,  though  they  are  said  to 
take  less  care  of  their  health. 


164  MISSION-TILLAGE.  CHAP.  X. 

The  term  Mission-village  deserves  some  explanation. 
It  means  that  the  Shah  has  bestowed  the  "  teeool "  of 
the  village  on  the  Mission ;  this  again  implies  that  his 
Majesty  has  renounced  his  claim  over  the  revenue, 
and  bestowed  it  on  the  British  legation.  The  revenue 
amounts  to  30  tomans,  or  15/.,  but  the  donation  confers 
considerable  authority  on  the  British  Minister,  who 
thereby  becomes  lord  paramount  in  the  village.  It  en- 
titles him  to  claim  a  piece  of  land  for  pitching  his  camp, 
and  confers  many  immunities  according  to  Persian  usage. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  benefit  to  the  villagers  is  im- 
mense. No  tax-gatherers  molest  them,  no  soldiers  are 
quartered  on  them,  no  levies  of  provisions  are  exacted ; 
they  are  under  English  protection,  and  are  thereby  safe 
from  molestation.  The  consequence  is  that  the  village  is 
most  flourishing,  the  value  of  its  land  has  increased,  and 
many  people  build  houses  within  it  merely  to  enjoy 
similar  privileges. 

This  system  of  teeool  is  one  of  the  great  banes  of 
Persia.  Its  evil  is  admitted,  but  too  many  interests  are 
concerned  in  its  maintenance  to  permit  its  abrogation 
even  by  the  despotic  monarch  of  Persia.  Custom  has 
given  the  owner  of  the  teeool  exclusive  rights  over  eggs, 
fowls,  lambs,  firewood,  fodder,  fruit,  &c.,  and,  if  he 
chances  to  be  a  man  of  rank,  he  takes  care  that  custom 
shall  have  the  amplest  latitude.  In  our  own  case,  how- 
ever, I  found  it  of  very  little  profit,  and  my  dream  of 
abundance  of  fresh  eggs  was  soon  dissipated.  The 
Persian  peasant  is  perhaps  the  best  part  of  the  nation,  but 
oppression  has  made  him  callous,  and  not  very  sensible  to 
emotions  of  gratitude.  We  were,  therefore,  welcome 


CHAP.  X.  MIRACULOUS  COW.  165 

visitors,  prices  were  doubled,  and  a  present  for  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Tazeea,  with  an  English  cloth  cloak  at 
Nowrooz  for  the  Ked  Khoda,  or  chief  of  the  village,  were 
the  incumbrances  charged  upon  our  fief. 

June  3rd. — One  is  often  reminded  in  this  country  of  the 
state  of  manners  in  Europe  some  centuries  ago,  when 
armies  consisted  of  feudal  retainers,  when  power  took  the 
place  of  law,  when  might  made  right.  Sanctuary  in 
shrines  is  still  in  full  operation  in  Persia;  and  though 
often  an  evil,  it  is  on  the  whole,  as  it  was  in  Europe  in 
those  days,  a  vast  benefit.  Where  the  law  is  weak  and 
the  administration  corrupt,  society  requires  some  extrane- 
ous support  independent  of  both.  The  guilty,  it  is  true, 
sometimes  escape,  but  the  innocent  and  weak  are  often 
protected.  A  struggle  between  the  government  and  the 
priesthood  relative  to  the  right  of  asylum  in  shrines, 
mosques,  and  other  places  of  sanctity,  has  been  long  going 
on  ;  one  party  seeking  its  overthrow,  the  other  its  main- 
tenance for  the  preservation  of  their  own  influence  over 
the  people.  Intelligence  has  just  arrived  from  Tabreez 
of  an  extraordinary  device  adopted  by  the  moollas  of  that 
city  for  restoring  the  right  of  bast,  or  sanctuary,  to  its 
ancient  vigour.  A  cow  being  conducted  to  the  slaughter- 
house, in  passing  by  a  noted  shrine  in  the  middle  of  the 
city,  twice  took  refuge  in  the  holy  spot.  On  the  third 
repetition  of  the  disregard  of  this  appeal  to  the  power  of 
the  defunct  saint,  the  butcher  was  struck  dead.  How  this 
portion  of  the  miracle  was  effected  I  know  not.  The  news 
spread  in  a  moment  through  the  city,  and  all  the  zeal  of 
the  Moslems  was  roused.  In  general  it  finds  a  vent  in 


166  REFUGEES  IX  THE  MISSIONS.  CHAP.  X. 

the  pillage  of  the  Armenians  or  the  Jews ;  but  on  this 
occasion  it  took  a  different  direction.  Miracles  in  abun- 
dance were  performed.  The  blind  saw,  the  lame  walked, 
maladies  innumerable  were  healed.  A  pitch  of  enthusiasm 
was  raised  which  was  described  to  be  "  frightful."  Illu- 
minations on  an  unheard-of  scale  took  place  during  three 
successive  nights ;  the  shrine  was  exalted  into  an  invio- 
lable sanctuary,  and  gamblers  and  drunkards  who  should 
dishonour  its  precincts  were  to  be  slain.  But  the  govern- 
ment was  strong  in  the  hands  of  the  Ameer  e  Nizam,  the 
Prime  Minister.  I  may  as  well  now  anticipate  events, 
and  mention  that,  before  many  months  had  elapsed,  some 
of  the  principal  instigators  of  these  prodigies  were 
brought  to  Tehran,  where  they  remained  in  much  discom- 
fort, and  were  only  released  on  promising  to  work  no  more 
miracles : — 

De  par  le  Roi  defense  a  Dieu, 
De  faire  miracle  dans  ce  lieu. 

The  foreign  Missions  are  inviolable  asylums  ;  no  one  can 
be  molested  within  their  walls.  Bahman  Meerza,  the 
Shah's  uncle,  and  governor  of  the  valuable  province  of 
Azerbijan,  took  refuge  in  the  Russian  Mission.  The 
sequel  of  this  step  was  his  transmission  to  Russia  as  the 
guest  of  the  Emperor,  where  he  now  enjoys  a  large 
pension  ;  still  he  pines  for  Persia  and  pillao. 

The  Shah's  stable  is  an  asylum,  almost  against  the  Shah 
himself.  Unless  in  an  extraordinary  case,  his  Majesty 
would  not  like  to  use  force  in  the  removal  of  a  person  who 
had  thus  thrown  himself  on  his  protection  or  on  his  mercy. 
The  reason  of  the  stable  having  this  sanctity  conferred  on 


CHAP.  X.  KEFUGEES  IN  THE  MISSIONS.  167 

it  seems  lost  in  antiquity.  In  passing  among  the  trees 
where  our  horses  were  picketed,  I  was  surprised  to  see 
seated  there  a  Persian  gentleman,  on  approaching  whom, 
I  perceived  him  to  be  perfectly  blind,  his  eyes  having 
been  removed  from  the  sockets.  On  ascertaining  that  we 
were  near  him,  he  stood  up  and  loudly  claimed  the 
protection  of  the  Dowlet  Aaleeya  Inglees,  the  sublime 
English  Government.  I  forget  this  gentleman's  name, 
whose  condition  and  striking  appearance  greatly  engaged 
my  sympathy.  He  was  a  khan,  and  chief  of  a  tribe  in 
Kerman  or  Yezd,  and  he  and  his  family  were  among  the 
most  atrocious  criminals  in  Persia.  The  murders  and 
acts  of  violence  committed  by  him  and  his  sons  exceeded 
belief.  In  retribution,  he  himself  had  been  blinded,  and 
two  of  the  latter  had  been  put  to  death.  Even  this  did 
not  cure  his  turbulence.  He  had  lately  committed  some 
new  act  of  atrocity,  and  fearing  the  consequences,  had 
fled  for  safety  to  our  stable,  with  the  hope  also  of  ob- 
taining English  intercession.  His  pitiable  condition  pre- 
vented an  order  for  his  immediate  expulsion,  which  would 
have  been  considered  discreditable ;  so  the  khan  was  left 
to  manage  matters  as  he  could.  Finding  himself  dis- 
appointed, he  in  a  few  days  withdrew ;  having  no  doubt 
applied  a  bribe  in  the  proper  quarter,  and  secured  im- 
punity for  his  misdeeds.  In  town,  criminals  used  often  to 
take  refuge  in  the  Mission.  To  deliver  them  to  justice 
would  have  brought  on  the  Mission  bud  namee,  or  bad 
reputation — a  subject  to  which,  curiously  enough,  Persians 
constantly  advert ;  so  at  night  they  are  ordered  to  depart, 
and  seek  for  safety  at  some  other  shrine  than  that  of  the 


168  REFUGEES  IN  THE  MISSIONS.  CHAP.  X. 

sovereign  of  England.  I  have  seen  it  necessary  to  use 
considerable  force  on  such  occasions,  and  loud  screams  of 
Aman  e  Padshah  Inglees !  Aman  e  Vezeer  Mookhtar ! 
Aman  Khanum !  Aman  Sahib  e  Koochik  !  (Quarter  from 
the  Queen  !  Quarter  from  the  Minister !  Quarter  from 
the  lady !  Quarter  from  the  little  gentleman  ! — meaning 
my  son  of  a  few  months  old)  have  reached  my  anderoon. 
Persians  of  all  classes  used  to  take  asylum.  Slaves 
escaping  from  the  cruelty  of  their  masters  were  often  to 
be  seen.  These  were  undoubted  objects  of  commisera- 
tion. After  allowing  them  to  remain  some  days,  until 
anger  had  cooled,  a  reconciliation  was  effected  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all  concerned ;  a  solemn  promise  being 
exacted  that  no  repetition  of  ill  treatment  was  to  occur. 
The  promise  would  certainly  be  faithfully  kept  during 
some  months.  Princes,  khans,  military  officers,  might 
at  times  be  seen  taking  refuge  within  the  Mission  walls. 
The  culpable  among  these,  such  as  embezzlers  of  public 
money,  fraudulent  bankers,  oppressors,  were  invited  to 
withdraw  without  delay  :  while  the  victims  of  tyranny 
and  violence  were  allowed  to  remain  until  an  opportunity 
occurred  for  an  amicable  arrangement  of  their  affairs  by 
reconciliation,  compromise,  or  some  other  mode.  I  used 
to  take  a  warm  interest  in  these  details ;  and  as  such 
things  were  constantly  happening,  they  made  living  in  my 
anderoon  in  Teheran  less  monotonous  than  I  at  first  found 
it.  For  though,  as  a  woman,  I  was  in  Persia  every 
moment  reminded  by  some  trifling  incident  or  other  of  the 
degraded  position  of  my  sex  in  the  East,  yet  I  was  content 
with  the  reflection  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  my 


Ciu*.  X.  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE.  169 

husband's  name  was  held ;  when  his  word  was  as  valid  as 
the  most  formal  document,  and  when  the  name  of  English- 
man was  respected  from  Bushire  to  the  Aras. 

In  Persia  there  is  nominally  a  code  of  laws  ;  in  reality 
there  is  none.  Impulse,  passion,  corruption,  expediency, 
power,  are  the  real  dispensers  of  the  law,  the  real  arbiters 
of  right  and  wrong.  In  such  a  state  of  society,  the  prac- 
tice of  asylum  may  be  considered  a  blessing.  It  is  the 
right  of  appeal  of  innocence  and  weakness  against  tyranny. 
The  Koran  does,  of  course,  provide  a  code,  however  im- 
perfect, for  the  administration  of  justice.  But  it  refers 
chiefly  to  criminal  cases — the  law  of  retaliation,  blood  for 
blood,  an  eye  for  an  eye.  In  practice,  nevertheless,  the 
administrators  of  the  criminal  law  pay  little  regard  to  the 
ordinances  of  the  Koran.  The  bastinado  and  a  fine  are 
the  sovereign  remedies  for  all  degrees  of  guilt,  varied 
occasionally  with  amputation  of  the  hand  or  the  head. 
The  innumerable  commentators  of  the  Koran  have  not 
neglected  to  provide  it  with  a  most  ample  civil  code, 
which  is  administered  by  the  dignitaries  among  the 
Mahommedan  priesthood — the  kazees,  moollas,  moojteheds, 
sheikh-ool-Islams,  &c.  They,  however,  only  pronounce 
the  law  :  the  execution  of  it  rests  with  the  officers  of 
Government.  From  this  double  mode  of  administration 
some  conception  may  be  formed  of  the  tide  of  corruption 
the  plaintiff  and  defendant  have  to  encounter.  As,  how- 
ever, it  is  the  constant  aim  of  the  Government  to  control 
the  jurisdiction  and  influence  of  the  clergy,  it  has,  within  a 
recent  period,  established  Courts  of  Justice,  in  which  a 
large  share  of  civil  jurisprudence  is  conducted.  I  have 


170  MOOJTEHEDS.  CHAP.  X. 

not  heard  that  any  improvement  in  integrity  has  been  the 
result  of  this  innovation. 

In  all  the  large  cities  of  Persia  there  are  moojteheds, 
or  moollas  of  high  degree,  of  unimpeachable  integrity, 
who  receive  the  highest  veneration  from  the  people.  Some 
among  them  are  so  scrupulous  that  they  refuse  to  pro- 
nounce the  decrees  of  the  law,  lest  perchance  they  should 
be  guilty  of  injustice. 


CHAP.  XI.  INTENSE  HEAT.  171 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

Intense  heat  —  Excursion  up  the  mountains  —  Frightful  torrent  — 
Welcome  new  moon  —  Rigorous  Mussulman  fast  —  Rebellion  — 
Babeeism  or  socialism  —  Curious  incident  at  the  execution  of  Bab 
—  A  socialist  king  —  Babee  executions  —  Insurrection  at  Zenjan. 

July. — THE  summer  drags  its  lazy  length  along,  the  heat 
increases,  and  our  stream  has  dried  up.  The  thermometer 
now  rises  to  110'  in  the  tents  ;  a  degree  of  heat  which, 
with  its  prostrating  influence,  to  be  understood  must  be 
endured.  We  therefore  determined  to  seek  refuge  in  the 
mountains  to  the  north,  in  the  district  of  Lavessan,  four 
stages  from  our  tents.  The  road  being  totally  impracti- 
cable for  wheeled  vehicles,  I  chose  a  beautiful  little  ass  for 
my  steed.  I  found,  nearly  to  my  cost,  that  a  more  dan- 
gerous selection  could  not  be  made ;  for,  unlike  the 
horses,  the  asses  of  Persia  are  afflicted  with  a  dreadful 
spirit  of  pugnacity.  It  was  only  by  a  most  fortunate 
chance  that  mine  on  one  occasion  was  prevented  from 
rushing  down  a  precipice  with  me  to  attack  one  of  his 
kind  who  was  braying  a  defiance  in  a  field  below.  He  was 
the  smallest  little  fellow  of  his  species,  yet  he  never  hesi- 
tated to  attack  the  largest  horses,  of  whom  he  had  van- 
quished several.  On  being  returned  to  the  Persian 
gentleman  from  whom  he  had  been  borrowed,  he  was 
transferred  to  a  moolla,  whom,  to  the  great  mirth  of  his 
master,  he  nearly  killed  in  one  of  his  encounters.  The 

i  2 


172  FRIGHTFUL  TORREXT.  CHAP.  XI. 

exposure  and  fatigue  of  the  journey  were  so  great  that  I 
repented  of  the  undertaking ;  but  on  reaching  our  destina- 
tion, we  found  our  tents  in  a  cool  spot  at  the  foot  of  a  great 
pass,  leading  to  a  lofty  plain  covered  with  the  flocks  and 
tents  of  the  wandering  tribes,  who  had  ascended  to  that 
cool  region  from  the  torrid  plains  of  Verameen,  near 
Tehran. 

We  passed  a  month  in  Lavessan,  which  is  ever  memor- 
able to  me,  from  the  intolerable  fright  I  there  received. 
Our  camp  was  near  a  deep  ravine,  in  which  ran  a  stream. 
One  afternoon  a  storm  came  on,  accompanied  by  such  a 
deluge  of  rain  as  I  never  before  had  seen.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  tent  was  filled  with  water,  and  the  air  became 
nearly  dark.  Suddenly  a  rumbling  and  very  appalling 
sound  was  heard ;  it  increased,  it  approached,  it  roared, 
and  shouts  and  yells  went  forth  the  whole  length  of  the 
valley.  We  rushed  in  terror  out  of  the  tent  into  the 
drenching  rain ;  I,  at  least,  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the 
convulsion.  Down  it  came,  bellowing  and  pealing  like  the 
loudest  thunder.  The  servants  and  villagers  screamed 
"  Syl  Amed,  Syl  Amed,"  and  cries  and  shouts  preceded 
its  course.  It  was  a  furious  torrent  which  had  broken 
loose.  We  groped  about  in  the  dark,  not  knowing 
where  to  go,  or  from  what  quarter  the  danger  had  come, 
and  floundering  through  the  ditches.  So  great  was  our 
terror  that  the  waving  of  a  field  of  yellow  corn,  not  far  off, 
was  imagined  to  be  the  torrent  in  full  rush  towards  us. 
The  person  least  frightened  of  our  forlorn  group  was 
the  Persian  nurse,  who,  with  tlie  baby  asleep  in  her  arms, 
endeavoured  to  reassure  me.  At  last,  it  was  ascertained 
to  have  deposited  itself  in  safety  in  the  deep  ravine,  and 


CHAP.  XI.  WELCOME  NEW  MOON.  173 

we  ventured  to  return  to  our  tents.  At  one  time  we  were 
thinking  of  climbing  up  a  tree,  which  would  have  been  of 
little  use  if  the  mad  torrent  had  reached  us.  Two  of  the 
members  of  the  Mission  had  a  narrow  escape.  Only  that 
morning  had  they  removed  their  tents  from  the  dry  bed  of 
the  stream,  high  up  on  the  bank.  Their  horses  were  still 
picketed  in  the  same  spot ;  but  a  brave  mehter  or  groom 
cut  their  head  and  heel  ropes,  or  they  would  have  infallibly 
been  dashed  to  pieces.  At  dinner  nobody  could  touch  a 
particle  of  food,  the  gentlemen  seeming  to  consider  wine 
the  best  restorative  after  such  a  shock.  In  the  morning 
I  hastened  to  look  into  the  ravine.  It  was  terrible  to  be- 
hold, and  inconceivable.  Every  other  sound  was  inaudible 
in  the  mighty  roar.  Enormous  rocks,  six  or  eight  feet  in 
diameter,  had  been  hurled  down  from  the  pass.  The  bridge 
had  been  carried  away.  Immense  trees  were  torn  up  by 
the  roots,  and  others  which  had  previously  been  growing 
in  the  ravine,  were  snapped  across  like  twigs.  The  sight 
alone  of  the  ravine  was  fearful. 

These  torrents  are  common  in  Persia,  though  rarely  on 
such  a  scale  as  the  one  I  have  described.  The  dry  bed  of 
a  river  is  therefore  not  a  safe  place  of  encampment,  but 
Persians  seem  generally  to  prefer  that  kind  of  locality. 

One  of  the  last  days  we  spent  in  Lavessan  brought  joy 
to  the  villagers  and  to  our  servants,  or,  in  more  ambitious 
phraseology,  brought  joy  from  the  Wall  of  China  to 
Belgrade.  It  was  the  Eed  e  Ramazan,  the  eve  of  the 
feast,  and  closing  of  the  fast  of  Ramazan.  Out  walk- 
ing in  the  evening,  we  saw  various  groups  peering  into 
the  sky  to  catch  a  view  of  the  shadowy  crescent  of  the 
new  moon,  before  its  rays  are  obscured  by  the  darkness. 


174  THE  KAMAZAN.  CHAP.  XI. 

A  clear  evening  is  of  importance,  for  if  the  moon  is 
rendered  invisible  by  clouds,  another  day  of  penance  must 
be  endured.  Generally,  however,  some  observer  blessed 
with  a  feeling  heart  and  good  eyes  contrives,  clouds  or 
not,  to  see  the  Queen  of  Night,  particularly  as  in  doubtful 
cases  a  reward  follows  a  well-authenticated  attestation  of 
the  fact.  In  the  present  instance  we  were,  I  think,  the 
first  to  announce  the  joyful  tidings,  and  almost  at  the  same 
moment  we  heard  the  sound  of  the  Shah's  gun  in  She- 
meran,  announcing  that  to-morrow  was  to  be  a  day  of 
rejoicing.  The  Mussulman  fast  is  a  severe  trial  at  this 
season.  It  commences  before  the  dawn,  and  does  not 
terminate  until  twenty  minutes  after  sunset.  Neither 
food  nor  liquid  must  be  touched,  nor,  sorest  privation  of 
all,  the  kaleeoun  or  chibouk.  Considering  that  the  use  of 
tobacco  and  smoking  are  nearly  a  thousand  years  subse- 
quent to  Mahommed,  it  seems  to  me  a  nice  point  of 
casuistry,  whether  its  observance  is  strictly  necessary  ac- 
cording to  the  "  Law."  The  fast  is  rigidly  observed  in  gene- 
ral, particularly  by  the  lower  classes,  and  by  women  of  all 
ranks.  The  latter  are  so  peremptory  on  this  point,  in 
which  they  have  public  opinion  on  their  side,  that  few 
husbands  even  among  the  freethinkers  venture  to  infringe 
the  fast.  They  know  what  a  storm  of  malediction  dis- 
covery would  bring  down  upon  their  heads.  The  drinkers 
of  wine  almost  always  abstain  during  this  month,  taking 
care  to  give  themselves  ample  compensation  the  moment 
the  fast  expires.  It  is  on  the  labourer  in  the  fields  that 
this  observance  weighs  most  heavily.  Toiling  in  the 
blazing  sun,  he  cannot  and  does  not  refresh  his  parched 
lips,  and  when  night  approaches  he  is  so  exhausted  he 


CHAP.  XI.  REBELLION.  175 

cannot  eat.  His  principal  meal  is  just  before  the  earliest 
dawn,  when  the  fast  begins.  The  servants  of  the  foreign 
Missions  are  not  remarkable  for  piety,  yet,  although  allow- 
able on  a  journey,  not  one  of  ours  deviated  from  the  in- 
junctions of  his  faith  in  this  matter.  I  hardly  know  which 
is  to  be  considered  as  most  severe,  the  Lent  of  catholics, 
when  properly  observed,  or  the  Ramazan.  In  the  former, 
liquids  are  not  prohibited,  but  only  a  single  meal  is  ad- 
missible in  the  twenty-four  hours.  A  Mahommedan  may 
eat  and  drink  the  entire  night,  if  he  can.  The  Persian 
women  I  have  had  in  my  service  used  to  begin  the  night 
by  smoking  a  little,  then  they  would  take  tea,  then  eat  a 
surprising  quantity  of  fruit,  and  after  their  meal  just  before 
dawn  would  go  to  sleep,  and  sleep  without  intermission 
almost  all  day.  It  used  to  annoy  me  to  see  my  nurses 
observe  the  fast,  but  no  expostulation  availed.  "  Kill  me, 
Khanum,"  they  used  to  say,  "  but  we  must  fast."  The 
mortality  after  the  Ramazan  is  very  great,  showing  how 
injurious  it  is  to  the  health. 

September  Qth. — This  year  has  been  remarkable  for 
civil  and  religious  wars  waged  in  various  parts  of  Persia. 
At  Meshed,  on  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  kingdom,  a 
son  of  a  maternal  uncle  of  the  Shah  had  for  many  months 
raised  the  standard  of  rebellion,  and  sustained  a  vigorous 
siege  against  his  sovereign's  forces.  It  terminated  in  his 
capture  by  treachery,  which  was  succeeded  by  his  execu- 
tion, and  that  of  one  of  his  sons  and  two  of  his  brothers.  A 
few  years  ago  a  wholesale  massacre  would  have  followed 
this  bold  rebellion,  but  European  influence  and  unceasing 
expostulation  have  softened  Persian  manners.  It  is 
curious,  though  I  believe  true,  that  the  English  press  has 


176  BABEEISM.  CHAP.  XI. 

had  some  share  in  producing  this  change.  The  strictures 
on  Persian  misgovernment,  which  sometimes  appear  in 
the  English  journals,  are  viewed  with  anger  and  alarm, 
particularly  when  the  evil-doers  are  held  up  by  name 
to  public  reprobation. 

But  a  far  more  serious  attempt  at  revolution  has  been 
in  progress  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Under  the 
disguise  of  a  new  revelation,  socialism  and  communism 
have  made  advances  in  Mazenderan,  Yezd,  Fars,  and 
Zenjan,  which  would  leave  nothing  to  wish  for  in  the 
aspirations  of  the  reddest  republican.  Blood  has  flowed 
in  torrents  in  crushing  the  malcontents,  for  terror  and 
religious  hate  walked  hand  in  hand.  For  the  renegade 
there  is  no  quarter  in  the  Mahommedan  code ;  far  less 
when  to  apostasy  are  added  the  startling  doctrines  of 
universal  spoliation,  and,  above  all,  of  the  relentless 
slaughter  of  all  Mussulmans,  in  particular  of  moollas, 
kazees,  &c.  This  amiable  sect  is  styled  Babee,  from 
Bab,  a  gate,  in  Arabic,  the  name  assumed  by  its  founder, 
meaning,  I  suppose,  the  gate  to  heaven. 

This  celebrated  person,  whose  real  name  was  Syed  Ali 
Mahommed,  was  born  forty  years  ago  in  Sheeraz,  where 
his  father  was  a  merchant.  When  fifteen  years  of  age 
he  was  sent  to  prosecute  his  theological  studies  at  Nejeff. 
Here  he  became  acquainted  with  two  derveeshes,  with 
whom  he  was  for  a  considerable  period  on  terms  of  great 
intimacy.  He  was  afterwards  sent  to  Bushire  to  follow 
commercial  pursuits,  but  he  withdrew  from  society,  and 
in  a  life  of  seclusion  devoted  himself  to  the  religious 
exercises  commonly  observed  by  derveeshes.  These 
mystic  practices  are  supposed  to  have  affected  his  in- 


CHAP.  XI.  EXECUTION  OF  BAB.  177 

tellect.     After   some  changes   he  settled   at   Kazemein, 
near  Bagdad,  where  he  first  divulged  his  pretensions  to 
the  character  of  a  prophet.     Incensed  at  this  blasphemy, 
the  Turkish  authorities  issued  orders  for  his  execution, 
hut  he  was  claimed  by  the  Persian  consul  as  a  subject 
of  the  Shah,  and  sent  to  his  native  place.     Here  in  a 
short  time  he  collected  so  many  disciples  around  him, 
that  imprisonment  followed  an  investigation  into  his  doc- 
trines.     It  was  debated  whether  he  was  to  be   treated 
as  a  lunatic,  or  a  blasphemer  and  unworthy  descendant 
of  the  Prophet,  but  his  life  was  saved  by  the  voice  of  the 
Sheikh  ool  Islam  on  his  making  a  public  recantation  of 
his  errors  from  the  pulpit  of  one  of  the  principal  mosques. 
He  contrived  to  escape  from  prison,  and  made  his  way  to 
Ispahan,  where  many  people  of  distinction  secretly  em- 
braced his  opinions.     Again  arrested,  he  was  sent  to  the 
fort  of  Cherek,  in  Azerbijan,  and  under  the  infliction  of 
the  bastinado  he  again  recanted  his  errors.     Six  months 
afterwards,  it  having  been  ascertained  that  his  doctrines 
were  obtaining  rapid  diffusion  among  all  classes,  he  was 
conveyed  to  Tabreez,  and  on  the  day  of  his  arrival  was 
brought  out  for  execution  in  the  great  mai'dan,  or  square. 
This  was  on  the  point  of  becoming  a  most  remarkable 
event,  which  would  probably  have  overturned  the  throne 
and   Islamism   in   Persia.     A   company  of  soldiers   was 
ordered  to  despatch  Bab  by  a  volley.     When  the  smoke 
cleared  away,  Bab  had  disappeared  from  sight.     It  had 
so  happened  that  none  of  the  balls  had  touched  him  ;  and, 
prompted  by  an  impulse  to  preserve  his  life,  he  rushed 
from  the  spot.     Had  Bab  possessed  sufficient  presence  of 
mind  to  have  fled  to  the  bazar,  which  was  within  a  few 

i  3 


178  BABEEISM.  CHAP.  XI. 

yards  of  the  place  where  he  was  stationed,  he  would  in 
all  probability  have  succeeded  in  effecting  his  escape.  A 
miracle  palpable  to  all  Tabreez  would  have  been  per- 
formed, and  a  new  creed  would  have  been  established. 
But  he  turned  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  hid  himself 
in  the  guard-room,  where  he  was  immediately  discovered, 
brought  out,  and  shot.  His  body  was  thrown  into  the 
ditch  of  the  town,  where  it  was  devoured  by  the  half-wild 
dogs  which  abound  outside  a  Persian  city.  Bab  possessed 
a  mild  and  benignant  countenance,  his  manners  were 
composed  and  dignified,  his  eloquence  was  impressive, 
and  he  wrote  rapidly  and  well. 

It  would  appear  that  in  the  beginning  of  his  career  he 
did  not  wholly  reject  the  established  forms  and  doctrines 
of  the  Mahommedan  faith,  but  he  reduced  these  to  pro- 
portions so  small  as  to  be  equivalent  to  their  annulment, 
and  thus  rendered  his  speculations  acceptable  to  the 
multitude.  As  his  disciples  increased  so  did  his  views 

enlarge.     was  acquainted   with   one    of   his 

proselytes,  who,  however,  adopted  the  principle  of  never 
avowing  his  faith  even  to  him.  This  man  was  in  a  re- 
spectable condition  of  life,  and  his  statements  were  subse- 
quently confirmed,  though  with  some  exaggeration,  by  a 
moolla  of  eminence,  who  had  been  converted  to  Ba- 
beeism  but  had  recanted  his  errors.  His  conversion, 
according  to  his  own  affirmation,  had  only  been  feigned 
in  order  to  be  able  to  dive  into  all  the  secrets  of  the 
system.  It  was  a  strange  circumstance  that  among  those 
who  adopted  Bab's  doctrine  there  should  have  been  a  large 
number  of  moollas,  and  even  moojteheds,  who  hold  a 
high  rank  as  expounders  of  the  law  in  the  Mahommedan 


».'ii  A  p.  XI.  BABEEISM.  179 

church.  Many  of  these  men  sealed  their  faith  with  their 
blood.  Bab's  notions  did  not  contain  much  originality. 
Atheism,  under  the  disguise  of  pantheism,  was  the  basis 
of  his  principles.  Every  single  atom  in  the  universe,  he 
said,  was  actually  God,  and  the  whole  universe  collec- 
tively was  God  ;  not  a  representative  of,  or  emanation 
from  God,  but  God  himself.  Everything  in  short  was 
God.  Bab  was  God,  and  every  living  creature  down  to 
each  lowest  insect.  Death  was  not  real — it  was  only 
another  form  of  divinity,  if  such  language  has  any  signi- 
fication at  all.  Virtue  had  no  existence,  neither  had 
vice ;  they  were  necessarily  wholly  indifferent,  as  being 
portions  or  emanations  of  the  Godhead.  Rights  of  pro- 
perty had  no  existence,  excepting  in  the  equal  division  of 
all  things  among  the  godly.  But  this  was  a  fiction,  the 
real  doctrine  being  the  reign  of  the  Saints, — that  is,  of  the 
Babees, — and  their  possession  of  the  goods  of  the  ungodly, 
— in  other  words,  the  non-Babees.  It  was  the  simplest 
of  religions.  Its  tenets  may  be  summed  up  in  materialism, 
communism,  and  the  entire  indifference  of  good  and  evil 
and  of  all  human  actions.  There  was  no  antipathy,  it 
was  affirmed,  on  the  part  of  the  Babees  to  Christians, 
or  to  the  followers  of  any  other  creed  excepting  Ma- 
hommedans,  who,  as  they  slew  Babees,  ought  to  be 
exterminated.  When  the  Babee  meerza  was  reminded 
of  this  being  somewhat  contrary  to  the  doctrine  of  in- 
difference of  all  human  actions,  he  had  no  reply  to 
make. 

One  of  the  proofs  alleged  against  Bab's  claim  to  a 
divine  mission  was  the  ungrammatical  Arabic  of  his  reve- 
lations, which  could  not  consequently  have  descended 


180  A  SOCIALIST  KIXG.  CHAP.  XL 

from  heaven.     The  Koran  is  regarded  as  a  miracle  of 
style  and  composition. 

In  the  maxims  of  Bab  there  does  not  seem  to  be  a 
material  difference  from  the  doctrines  alluded  to  in  a 
former  page,  as  inculcated  by  Hassan  Sabah  at  Alamoot. 
In  the  reign  of  Kei  Kobad,  five  hundred  years  after  Christ, 
Mazdak  spread  widely  through  Persia  his  atheistical  doc- 
trines, not  dissimilar  from  those  of  Bab.  Among  them 
was  included  the  same  principle  of  a  division  of  property  ; 
and,  strange  to  say,  his  creed  was  adopted  by  the  monarch 
Kei  Kobad.  Nousheerwan,  the  son  of  that  sovereign, 
put  to  death  Mazdak,  with  thousands  of  his  followers. 

The  present  Shah  shows  no  disposition  to  follow  the 
example  of  his  predecessor.  Mazenderan,  owing  to  its 
secluded  position,  is  perhaps  the  province  in  Persia  most 
infected  with  a  fanatical  attachment  to  the  Mahommedan 
faith.  It  was  here  that,  headed  by  the  priesthood,  the 
attack  on  the  Babees  commenced ;  many  hundred  were 
slain  in  that  province,  fighting  to  the  last,  and  sustaining 
with  invincible  fortitude  all  the  barbarous  inflictions  which 
cruelty,  fanaticism,  and  terror  could  invent.  Scenes 
nearly  similar,  but  with  a  diminution  of  cruelty  and 
bigotry,  were  repeated  in  Fars  and  Yezd. 

This  year,  seven  Babees  were  executed  at  Tehran  for 
an  alleged  conspiracy  against  the  life  of  the  Prime  Minis- 
ter. Their  fate  excited  general  sympathy,  for  every  one 
knew  that  no  criminal  act  had  been  committed,  and 
suspected  the  accusation  to  be  a  pretence.  Besides  this 
Babeeism  had  spread  in  Tehran  too.  They  died  with 
the  utmost  firmness.  Previously  to  decapitation  they 
received  an  offer  of  pardon,  on  the  condition  of  reciting 


CHAP.  XI.  INSURRECTION  AT  ZENJAN.  181 

the  Kelema,  or  creed,  that  Mahommed  is  the  Prophet 
of  God.  It  was  rejected,  and  these  visionaries  died  sted- 
fast  in  their  faith.  The  Persian  minister  was  ignorant 
of  the  maxim  that  persecution  was  proselytism. 

In  Zenjan  the  insurrection,  or  the  religious  movement, 
as  the  Babees  termed  it,  broke  out  with  violence.  This 
city  is  only  two  hundred  miles  from  Tehran,  midway  to 
Tabreez.  At  its  head  was  a  moolla  of  repute  and  re- 
nown, who,  with  his  associates,  retired  into  an  angle  of 
the  city,  which  they  strengthened  as  best  they  could.  For 
several  months  they  defended  themselves  with  uncon- 
querable resolution  against  a  large  force  in  infantry  and 
guns,  sent  against  them  from  Tehran.  It  was  their  readi- 
ness to  meet  death  that  made  the  Babees  so  formidable 
to  their  assailants.  From  street  to  street — from  house  to 
house — from  cellar  to  cellar — they  fought  without  flinch- 
ing. All  were  killed  at  their  posts,  excepting  a  few  who 
were  afterwards  bayoneted  by  the  troops  in  cold  blood. 

Few  believe  that  by  these  sanguinary  measures  the 
doctrines  of  Bab  will  cease  from  propagation.  There  is 
a  spirit  of  change  abroad  among  the  Persians,  which 
will  preserve  his  system  from  extinction ;  besides  which, 
his  doctrines  are  of  an  attractive  nature  to  Persians. 
Though  now  subdued,  and  obliged  to  lurk  concealed  in 
towns,  it  is  conjectured  that  the  creed  of  Bab,  far  from 
diminishing,  is  daily  spreading ;  at  the  fitting  time  Bab 
will  come  to  life  again.  There  will  be  either  a  resurrec- 
tion, or  else  his  successor  will  maintain  that  his  death  was 
a  falsehood  invented  by  the  Mussulmans.  Whenever 
that  day  of  desolation  arrives,  wading  in  blood  will  not 
be  a  figure  of  speech  in  Persia. 


182  RUINS  OF  REI.  CHAP.  XII. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

Ruins  of  Rei  —  Massacre  of  Russian  mission  —  The  camel  artillery  — 
Excursion  to  Verameen  —  Extraordinary  ruin  —  Rages  —  The  Salt 
Desert  —  Wild  asses  —  Tame  asses. 

October  1st. — EVERY  one  has  returned  to  town,  our 
season  is  over,  and  Shemeran  is  desolate ;  not  a  single 
tent  being  visible  excepting  those  of  our  own  camp,  which 
we  break  up  to-morrow  to  resume  our  old  abode.  I  feel 
thankful  the  summer  is  over.  The  Persian  autumn  is 
still  more  delightful  than  the  spring,  and  fortunately 
autumn  in  general  is  prolonged  to  the  middle  of  De- 
cember. The  air  is  so  pure  that  the  animal  spirits  are 
highly  exhilarated.  Everything  looks  bright  and  cheer- 
ful in  the  dazzling  atmosphere,  through  which  objects  are 
seen  with  distinctness  at  immense  distances. 

The  rides  and  drives  about  Tehran  are  very  limited. 
One  of  the  most  usual  is  to  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city 
of  Rei,  four  miles  from  town.  Little  now  remains  of  this 
capital,  which,  judging  from  the  extent  of  mounds,  broken 
walls,  and  other  evidences  of  former  population,  must 
have  been  of  great  magnitude.  Two  towers  still  exist, 
which  might  have  been  minarets,  with  inscriptions  on 
them  in  Cufic,  as  I  am  told ;  also  some  portions  of  the 
ancient  rampart,  which  is  of  prodigious  size,  and  various 
fragments  of  the  city  wall.  I  hear  it  is  a  city  of  Ma- 
hommedan  construction,  having  been  transferred  from  a 


CHAP.  XII.  KUINS  OF  EEL  183 

more  ancient  site  thirty  miles  to  the  eastward,  where  the 
city  of  Rages  is  supposed  to  have  existed.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  curious  image  carved  in  a  rock  still  in  a  state  of 
high  preservation,  which  Mr.  Morier  considers  to  be  a  proof 
that  Rei  preceded  Mahommedanism.  The  city  was  utterly 
destroyed  six  hundred  years  ago  by  the  Lieutenants  of 
Chengeez  Khan,  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  having  been 
slain.  The  dreadful  calamities  in  the  shape  of  invasion 
to  which  Persia  has  been  always  exposed,  must  explain 
in  some  degree  the  want' of  population.  The  heat  of  Rei 
is  said  to  exceed  that  of  Tehran,  and  the  insalubrity 
of  the  climate  may  be  imagined  from  the  Persian  tradi- 
tion relative  to  it.  Izraeel,  the  angel  of  death,  happening 
to  pay  a  visit  to  Rei  in  the  exercise  of  his  vocation,  seeing 
the  devastation  caused  by  the  deadly  atmosphere,  took 
fright,  and  fled  in  such  haste  that  he  forgot  his  slippers. 
Overlooking  Rei  is  the  hill  where  the  Gebrs  expose 
their  dead  to  birds  of  prey ;  and  close  to  it  is  the  town  of 
Shah  Abdul  Azeem,  famous  for  the  pilgrimages  made  to 
it  from  Tehran  to  the  shrine  of  some  holy  descendant  of 
Mahommed  of  the  above  name,  and  for  its  affording 
sanctuary  to  criminals.  This  town  is  in  truth  the  repre- 
sentative of  Rei,  on  whose  ruins  it  stands,  and  with  the 
hills  overlooking  the  ruins,  which  are  a  spur  from  Elboorz, 
forms  a  striking  object  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
plain  of  Tehran. 

November,  1850. — In  driving  to  the  gate  for  exercise 
outside  the  walls,  I  often  pass  a  melancholy  building,  not 
far  from  our  house,  in  ruin  and  uninhabited.  It  was  the 
residence  of  the  Russian  Mission,  which  nearly  thirty 
years  ago  was  massacred  in  Tehran  by  a  rising  of  the 


184  MURDER  OF  RUSSIAN  MISSION.          CHAP.  XII. 

people.  The  Minister  was  M.  Grubaedoff,  who  came  to 
Tehran  not  long  after  the  war  was  concluded.  His 
demeanour  to  the  Shah  was  said  to  have  been  rude  and 
overbearing.  A  Georgian  slave,  deeply  in  the  confidence 
of  Fetteh  Ali  Shah  and  of  the  chief  ladies  of  his  haram, 
claimed  the  protection  of  the  Mission  as  a  subject  of  the 
Czar,  and  was  received  by  the  Minister  under  his  roof. 
On  the  same  plea,  several  women  in  the  haram  of  either 
the  Shah  or  of  the  principal  nobleman  in  Persia,  the  Azof 
Uddouleh,  a  near  relation  of  his  Majesty,  were  demanded 
and  removed  against  their  own  consent  to  the  Russian 
Mission.  Various  other  acts,  reminding  the  Persians 
of  their  being  humbled  to  the  dust,  took  place.  The 
indignation  of  the  populace  was  aroused ;  perhaps  it 
was  fostered  by  the  monarch  himself.  In  some  accidental 
brawl  a  Persian  was  killed.  His  body  was  carried  in 
procession  to  one  of  the  chief  moollas,  who  issued  a  fetwa, 
a  religious  decree,  that  the  Kafirs  should  be  slain,  and 
that  the  people  should  march  to  the  Jehad  (war  for  the 
faith).  Next  morning  several  thousand  persons  assembled 
in  arms  at  the  various  mosques,  and  proceeded  in  solemn 
array  to  the  house  of  the  unfortunate  Russians.  The 
Shah  was  terrified  at  the  tumult  which  had  been  raised, 
and  which  he  now  wished  to  quell,  but  could  not.  He 
was  told  that  his  own  life  and  throne  were  at  issue  if  he 
dared  to  interfere.  The  attack  proceeded.  The  Rus- 
sians closed  their  gates  and  doors,  but  offered,  it  seems, 
no  resistance.  The  people  mounted  on  the  flat  roof  of 
the  house,  into  which  they  made  openings,  and  fired  on 
the  Russians  below  ;  they  were  all  slain,  thirty-six  in 
number,  I  am  told,  excepting  one  attache,  who  gave  some 


CHAP.  XII.  CAMEL-ARTILLERY.  185 

of  the  assailants  a  sum  of  gold  to  spare  his  life  ;  they 
thrust  him  into  a  small  room,  and  told  the  mob  that 
women  were  lying  there  concealed,  on  which  they  re- 
tired. The  British  Mission  was  then  in  Tabreez,  but  one 
of  their  number  was  immediately  despatched  to  Tehran, 
and  brought  this  Russian  gentleman  in  safety  to  that  city. 
I  am  told  his  name  was  Malkhof,  and  that  he  is  now  in 
the  Foreign  Office  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  one  of  the  most 
esteemed  composers  of  the  famous  Russian  despatches 
and  circulars.  Fortunately  for  Persia  a  war  was  then 
impending  between  Russia  and  Turkey,  and  the  Emperor 
Nicholas  was  satisfied  with  an  apology  delivered  in 
Petersburg  by  a  grandson  of  the  Shah.  Since  the  above 
display  of  popular  anger  the  Russians  have  never  ven- 
tured to  live  in  the  town ;  their  residence  has  always 
been  in  the  Ark  or  Citadel,  close  to  the  Shah's  palace  and 
the  Prime  Minister's  house.  Their  former  dwelling  has 
never  been  inhabited  since  that  event ;  it  now  serves  as  a 
stable  for  the  Shah's  camel-artillery. 

This  is  a  very  pretty-looking  body  of  soldiers,  and,  to 
all  appearance,  equally  formidable.  They,  however,  bear 
the  character  of  being  merely  a  pageant,  and  nearly  use- 
less for  purposes  of  war  in  these  days.  Their  number  is 
upwards  of  a  hundred,  each  animal  having  a  soldier  and 
a  small  piece  of  artillery  on  its  back,  which  carries,  I 
hear,  a  ball  half  a  pound  in  weight.  When  about  to 
be  fired,  the  gun  is  placed  on  the  ground,  resting  on  a 
swivel,  though  I  believe  it  can  be  used  from  its  elevated 
position.  They  accompany  the  Shah  on  journeys  and  on 
occasions  of  ceremony,  to  fire  salutes.  When  preceding 
the  Shah  in  their  red  housings,  with  kettledrums  beating 


186  ANCIENT  MOSQUES.  CHAP.  XII. 

and  clarionets  sounding,  their  appearance  is  quite  melo- 
dramatic. 

December,  1850. — Persia  has  at  least  one  recommenda- 
tion :  life  is  very  free  and  easy ;  there  is  not  much  choice 
of  action,  but,  such  as  it  is,  it  is  free  and  uncontrolled. 
One  goes  and  one  comes ;  one  is  constantly  on  the  move, 
without  any  particular  why  or  wherefore,  excepting  that 
it  is  in  some  way  or  other  a  matter  of  course.  A  French 
gentleman  in  Tehran  described  it  well  when  he  said  that 
it  was  "  une  vie  de  pantoufle."  It  was  for  some  such 
reason  that  in  the  early  part  of  this  fine,  bright,  cold 
month  we  determined  to  make  an  excursion  to  Vera- 
meen,  the  granary  of  Tehran,  thirty  miles  distant  from 
the  city. 

The  first  day  took  us  to  Shah  Abdul  Azeem,  where 
there  is  nothing  to  attract  attention  excepting  the  mosque. 
The  Persians  and  the  Spaniards  seem  to  resemble  each 
other  in  this  respect.  Where  nothing  else  is  to  be  seen, 
one  is  tolerably  certain  of  beholding  a  fine  church  or 
mosque.  At  night  we  rested,  according  to  our  old 
practice,  in  a  village  house.  Next  day  we  reached  the 
town  of  Verameen,  where  again  we  saw  another  fine 
mosque,  but  in  ruins.  It  was  several  hundred  years  old, 
as  the  inscription  on  it  declared.  These  ancient  mosques 
are  built  in  a  manner  to  ensure  duration,  and  their 
beauty  consists  in  the  taste  and  variety  of  tint  of  the 
enamelled  tiles  with  which  they  are  covered.  The  in- 
terior is  decorated  in  the  same  manner,  with  the  addition 
of  innumerable  inscriptions  from  the  Koran,  in  bas-relief, 
of  stucco  or  more  valuable  materials,  as  the  case  may  be. 
Persian  stucco  lasts  for  ever.  The  dome  of  this  mosque 


CIIAI-.  XII.  EUINS  OF  EUKOPA,  187 

offered  rather  a  curious  spectacle ;  it  was  full  of  pigeons, 
which  flew  round  and  round,  and  seemed  either  unable  to 
descend,  or  to  be  attracted  by  some  mysterious  power.  I 
watched  them  a  considerable  time,  but  still  their  circular 
evolutions  continued  without  any  apparent  motive,  and 
perhaps  the  magnetic  influence  was  only  destroyed  by 
night  and  darkness. 

Near  Verameen  a  most  remarkable  antiquity  still 
survives  the  lapse  of  twenty  centuries,  that  is,  if  what  we 
hear  be  true.  It  consists  of  an  immense  rampart,  twenty 
or  thirty  feet  in  height,  and  of  proportional  thickness,  in- 
closing a  space  of  about  half  a  mile  in  length  and  nearly 
the  same  in  breadth.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  square  ;  the 
rampart  is  continuous,  and  at  short  intervals  is  strength- 
ened by  bastions  of  prodigious  size.  The  whole  is  con- 
structed of  unbaked  bricks  of  large  dimensions,  and  is  in 
a  state  of  extraordinary  preservation.  The  traces  of  a 
ditch  of  great  size,  though  nearly  filled  up,  are  evident  in 
front  of  the  rampart.  No  buildings  are  found  inside, 
where  nothing  is  visible  excepting  a  few  mounds, — not  a 
single  habitation  or  human  being.  The  solitude  of  this 
striking  vestige  of  antiquity  adds  to  its  solemnity.  It 
stood  alone ;  Elboorz,  distant  only  a  few  miles,  gazing 
down  on  its  hoary  walls,  with  Demawend,  in  its  garment 
of  snow,  to  complete  the  scene.  From  no  place  have  I 
had  a  finer  view  of  this  grand  mountain,  which  seemed  to 
lie  exactly  to  the  north.  I  am  informed  that  these  mag- 
gificent  ruins  represent  Europa,  a  city  built  by  Seleucus, 
which,  if  true,  would  make  it  upwards  of  two  thousand 
years  old.  On  seeing  the  perfect  state  of  the  ruins,  and 
the  materials  of  which  they  are  composed,  one  feels  hesi- 


188  GREAT  SALT  DESERT.  CHAP.  XII. 

tation  in  crediting  so  venerable  an  antiquity.  Seleucus 
chose  the  spot  well.  The  district  of  Veraraeen  is  re- 
nowned for  its  fertility,  though  not  at  this  period  for  the 
salubrity  of  its  climate.  The  surrounding  country  is 
covered  with  earthen  mounds,  denoting  former  edifices, 
which,  if  explored,  might  reveal  objects  worthy  of  the 
erudition  and  intellect  of  even  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson. 
My  husband  sent  a  Persian,  with  100/.,  to  "  dig  "  in  the 
ruins  of  Moorghab,  the  site  of  the  tomb  of  Cyrus ;  and 
though  I  do  not  suspect  the  money  to  have  been  "  eaten," 
nothing  came  of  the  experiment.  I  wish  he  had  made 
choice  of  one  of  these  great  mounds  in  preference. 

This  district  seems  to  have  been  the  land  of  cities.  A 
few  miles  to  the  south-east,  on  the  edge  of  the  Keveer, 
or  Great  Salt  Desert,  are  other  remains  of  vast  extent ; 
they  consist  of  mere  mounds,  not  remarkable  for  their 
size.  Here,  it  is  said,  was  the  veritable  Rages, — the 
Rages  of  Alexander,  the  Rages  of  Tobias,  transformed, 
it  would  seem,  successively  first  to  Europa,  then  to  Rei, 
and  lastly  to  its  present  humble  representative,  Tehran. 
The  position,  it  is  alleged,  confirms  the  supposition  of 
that  great  city  being  on  this  spot,  which  was  the  high 
road  between  Nineveh  and  Balkh.  I  perceive,  however, 
in  the  Catholic  Bible,  in  the  Book  of  Tobias,  that  there 
were  two  cities  called  Rages,  one  being  at  Ekbatana  ;  so 
I  leave  the  question  to  the  antiquaries. 

It  seems  inconceivable  that  a  large  city  could  have 
occupied  this  desolate  waste.  Here  we  were  in  the  Great 
Salt  Desert,  extending  for  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  south 
and  east.  It  is  not  like  the  honest  steppes  of  Russia, 
which  by  culture  supply  all  the  wants  of  man.  The 


EELYATS.  189 

shootoor-khar,  or  camel-thorn,  a  briar  on  which  that  ani- 
mal delights  to  browse,  is  the  only  vegetable  substance 
that  meets  the  eye,  or  that  these  deserts  can  produce. 
It  would  appear,  however,  that  in  ancient  days  Rages  was 
not  necessarily  in  the  midst  of  desolation.  The  desert  is 
of  an  encroaching  spirit ;  when  not  resisted  by  population 
and  tillage,  it  makes  steady  advances,  and  would  swallow 
up  Verameen,  as  it  certainly  has  to  some  extent  already, 
if  not  repelled  by  human  labour.  Rages  may  therefore 
have  been  in  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 

Verameen  abounds  in  eelyats,  who  in  summer  remove 
their  flocks  from  that  sultry  region  to  the  foot  of  Dema- 
wend.  In  the  last  century,  when  the  tribes  were  the 
staple  of  a  Persian  army,  this  was  a  valuable  considera- 
tion in  the  selection  of  a  capital.  When  Agha  Mahom- 
med  Khan  chose  so  wretched  a  place  as  Tehran  for  the 
seat  of  his  dynasty,  no  doubt  he  had  in  view  that  on  the 
east,  south,  and  west  the  tribes  could  be  easily  summoned 
to  his  standard  ;  while  on  the  north,  at  the  city  of  Astera- 
bad,  lay  his  own  tribe  of  Kajjar.  Politically  Tehran  is 
considered  to  be  well  situated.  Midway  between  Azer- 
bijan  and  Khorassan,  not  too  far  from  Asterabad  and 
Resht  on  the  Caspian,  the  Shah  of  Persia,  who  is  sup- 
posed always  to  lead  his  armies,  is  ready,  or  ought 
to  be,  to  oppose  any  invader.  He  is,  no  doubt,  too  far 
from  the  south,  but  from  this  point  he  has  not  much  to 
fear.  Ispahan,  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  kingdom, 
was  the  natural  capital  of  Persia  when  Turks,  AfFghans, 
and  Usbeks  were  her  only  enemies.  Now,  however,  that 
the  Muscovite  "  barbarian  eye  "  is  fixed  on  her  best  pro- 
vinces, the  Shah  must  approach  nearer  the  post  of  danger. 


190  THE  WILD  ASS.  CHAP.  XII. 

The  skirt  of  Veraraeen  towards  the  desert  is  said  to  be 
stocked  with  the  wild  ass,  which  Persians  recommend  as 
an  excellent  kebab,  in  spite  of  his  non-cloven  foot  and  of 
his  not  chewing  the  cud.  But  the  Mussulmans  have 
given  themselves  more  latitude  in  these  matters  than  the 
Benee  Israeel, — asses,  camels,  horses,  porcupines,  cray- 
fish, locusts,  do  not  come  amiss  to  them.  The  desert 
Arabs  are  even  accused  of  not  scrupling  to  make  a  meal 
of  a  lizard,  when  need  be.  At  all  events,  they  did  so  in 
former  days,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  following  indignant 
verse  of  the  last  Persian  king  before  the  Arab  conquest. 
Mahommed,  having  attained  the  zenith  of  his  power, 
addressed  a  letter  to  Yezdejerd,  sovereign  of  Persia,  in 
which  he  invited  him  to  submit,  and  gave  him  his  choice 
of  the  Book,  the  Sword,  or  the  Tribute.  Stung  to  the 
quick  at  this  proffer  from  an  unknown  Arab,  the  great 
king  exclaimed — 

Ze  Sheer  e  Shootoor  Khoordcn  ve  Soosnidr, 
Arabra  bejaee  reseedeh  ast  Kar) 
Kih  taj  e  Kyanee  koonend  Arzoo, 
Too/oo  ber  too  ai  cherkh  gerdoon,  toofoo. 

Drinkers  of  camel's  rnilk,  eaters  of  lizards ! 

To  this  pass  has  it  come  with  the  Arab? 

That  he  dares  to  aspire  to  the  crown  of  the  Kyanees ! 

I  spit  on  Ihee,  fickle  fate !  I  spit  on  thee ! " 

Numerous  as  are  the  herds  of  the  wild  ass  in  Persia, 
particularly  to  the  north  of  Meshed  and  in  Kerman,  the 
only  one  I  ever  saw  was  a  tame  one,  which  used  to  wander 
about  Shemeran  and  often  came  to  our  camp.  He  was 
a  beautiful  creature,  very  large,  but  exceedingly  fierce 
and  vicious.  If  any  one  ventured  to  approach,  he  imme- 
diately got  ready  for  battle,  striking  out  with  his  fore- 


CHAP.  XII.  REGIMENTAL  ASSES.  191 

foot  with  great  force.  There  is  a  beautiful  breed  of  asses 
in  the  province  of  Yezd,  perfectly  white,  tall  and  stately; 
they  bring  large  prices,  sometimes  25A,  being  in  request 
among  merchants  and  moollas  for  their  activity  and 
secure  ambling  pace.  As  the  wild  asses  are  numerous  in 
the  deserts  of  Yezd,  they  perhaps  are  descended  from 
this  stock.  It  is,  however,  the  "regimental  "  ass  in  Persia 
which  excites  our  admiration  and  deep  pity.  He  is  small, 
strong,  and  indefatigable.  I  hear  that  in  each  regiment 
of  Azerbijan  there  are  several  hundreds  of  these  animals, 
who  carry  the  soldiers'  baggage,  as  well  as  a  great  many 
of  the  soldiers  themselves.  I  have  seen  a  regiment 
marching,  with  their  asses  trudging  manfully  along  the 
road,  some  of  them  well  loaded  with  baggage,  and  two  or 
three  muskets  on  each  side,  besides  a  soldier  astride, 
almost  on  the  tail,  his  feet  touching  the  ground.  He  also 
fulfils  the  part  of  ambulance,  the  sick  soldiers  being 
mounted  on  these  personifications  of  patience.  The 
powers  of  endurance  of  these  poor  fellows — I  mean  the 
asses — are  said  to  be  inexhaustible.  Many  of  them  are 
known  to  have  marched  from  Tabreez  to  Herat,  and, 
more  wonderful  still,  to  have  marched  back  again. 

We  returned  to  Tehran,  after  having  explored  all  the 
rides  round  Verameen,  a  few  days  before  Christmas,  which 
we  kept  as  much  as  possible  in  the  English  fashion. 
Holly  there  was  none,  so  I  decorated  the  rooms  with 
ivy  and  the  few  flowers  left  in  the  garden. 


192  NEW  YEAR'S  DAY.  CHAP.  XIII. 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 

New  Year's  Day  —  Wool !  Wool !  —  Various  kinds  of  derveeshes,  and 
their  ceremonies  —  Freedom  of  religious  opinions  —  Custom  of 
sending  corpses  to  Kerbella — Disagreeable  companions — Ali-Illahism 

—  Visit  to  the  Shah's  palace  —  Conjugal  present  —  The  Shah's  sister 

—  The  deserted  camel. 

JANUARY,  1851. — This  year  opened  very  agreeably  with 
a  reminiscence  of  Europe,  in  the  shape  of  tableaux  vivans, 
given  at  the  Russian  Mission  with  great  success  by 

Princess  .  .    Only  the  Europeans   of  Tehran  were 

invited  and  a  few  privileged  Persians,  who  had  been  in 
Europe,  and  were  therefore  accustomed  to  our  manners. 
They  seemed  enchanted  with  the  groups,  which  were  really 
arranged  with  much  taste.  Even  trifles  like  these  are  of 
use  in  this  country,  for  they  tend  gradually  to  effect  a 
change  in  their  exclusive  and  Asiatic  modes  of  thinking. 
I  cannot  say  the  same  of  the  waltz  and  polka,  which 
although  few  have  seen,  yet  they  all  have  heard  of,  and 
which  fill  them  with  astonishment  at  the  ladies  who  join  in 
those  dances. 

January  15#A. — "Pashm!  pashm!  Wool!  wool!"  In 
passing  through  the  bazar,  I  had  constantly  remarked  a 
wild-looking  young  man,  so  wild  as  to  seem  almost  insane. 
He  was  dressed  in  white,  with  a  small  conical  red  cloth  cap 
on  his  head,  and  a  trident  in  his  hand  to  mark  his  profession 
of  derveesh.  He  was  the  son  of  a  merchant,  who,  having 
spent  his  substance  in  extravagance  and  dissipation,  had 


CHAP.  XIII.  DEHVEESHES.  193 

"  abandoned  the  world,"  and  devoted  himself  to  idleness 
and  derveeshism.  His  day  was  spent  in  roving  through 
the  bazar,  exclaiming  with  a  loud  voice  the  above  word, 
"  Pashm  !  pashm  !  "  which  seemed  to  comprise  the  whole 
extent  of  his  vocabulary.  In  this  compendium  of  moral 
ethics,  this  philosopher  tried  to  excite  the  liberality  of  the 
wealthy,  and  pronounced  his  opinion  of  the  vanity  of  sub- 
lunary things — that  all  was  "  wool ! "  The  little  under- 
standing he  ever  possessed  seemed  to  be  constantly  under 
the  influence  of  chers,  an  extract  from  hemp,  which  raises 
its  partakers  to  ecstatic  bliss  while  under  its  influence,  and, 
like  the  opium-smoking  of  China,  finally  destroys  all  the 
faculties  of  the  mind  and  body.  Another  of  these  worthies 
had  adopted  a  very  different  appreciation  of  worldly  wealth. 
His  mode  of  attracting  attention  was  to  approach  a  pas- 
senger, and  exclaim,  "  Hazar  tooman ;  yek  deenar  kerater 
neh  mee  geeram  "  (A  thousand  tomans ;  I  won't  take  a 
fraction  less).  A  third  used  to  pace  up  and  down  the 
bazars,  vociferating  the  word  "  Aleeyan "  (Oh  Ali !) 
and  nothing  else.  He  was  said  to  be  successful  in 
obtaining  contributions.  The  character  of  these  der- 
veeshes  is  exceedingly  low  in  general  estimation,  and  yet 
a  sort  of  reverence  is  attached  to  the  profession.  Under 
the  pretence  of  abandoning  the  vain  cares  of  a  fleeting 
world,  they  devote  their  lives  to  idleness  and  the  inebria- 
tion arising  from  chers,  roving  from  city  to  city,  by  the 
orders  of  their  moorshids,  or  spiritual  chiefs,  and  levying 
contributions  from  the  multitude.  I  have  already  de- 
scribed one  mode  of  exaction  at  the  Nowrooz.  Another  of 
their  devices  is  to  make  use  of  the  most  fearful  imprecations 
and  denunciations  of  evil  on  those  who  refuse  to  submit 


194  DERVEESHES.  CHAP.  XIII. 

to  their  extortion.  Persian  women,  and  even  the  greater 
part  of  the  men,  are  seldom  able  to  resist  the  weight  of 
these  anathemas.  It  appears  that  nominally  they  all  pre- 
serve their  original  Mahommedanism,  but  that  they  assume 
to  themselves  such  a  degree  of  perfection  as  dispenses 
them  from  the  observance  of  its  forms  of  prayer,  fasting, 
&c.  With  this  creed  they  combine  ideas  of  soofeeism,  or 
mysticism,  on  the  nature  of  the  First  Cause,  his  attributes, 
his  relations  with  man,  with  matter,  creation,  with  evil, 
and  with  good,  quite  unintelligible  to  me,  and  I  hear  even 
to  themselves.  Aiming  at  sublimity,  they  lose  themselves 
in  a  bewilderment  of  words  and  ideas.  Tehran  is  naturally 
a  Kibleh  of  attraction  to  these  successors  of  the  sages  of 
Greece.  The  Persian  meerza  or  secretary  of  the  Mission, 
who  has  been  in  England,  and  who  is  my  constant  cicerone, 
tells  me  that  in  Tehran  there  are  seven  fraternities  of 
derveeshes,  each  of  which  has  a  different  system  with 
reference  to  the  subjects  above  mentioned.  Their  names 
are — Ajem,  Khaksar,  Niamet-oollahee,  Zehabee,  Jella- 
lee,  Kemberee,  Dehree.  Ajem  and  Khaksar  originated 
with  Hassen  of  Bassora,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  the 
Caliph  Ali ;  Niamet-oollahee,  which  is  the  fraternity  most 
prevalent  in  Persia,  was  founded  by  Maaroof  e  Kerkhee, 
derban,  or  porter,  to  Imam  Reza,  who  lived  in  the  reign 
of  the  Caliph  Mamoon.  Zehabee  is  derived  from  Owes  e 
Kerrem  (a  town  in  Yemen),  one  of  the  early  disciples  of 
Mahommed.  Jellalee  springs  from  the  pseudo-Imam, 
Jaafer  Kezzab  (the  Great  Liar),  who  lived  about  150  years 
after  Mahommed.  Kemberee  originated  with  Kember,  a 
black  slave  of  Ali  "  Ameer  il  Moomeneen,"  the  "  Com- 
mander of  the  Faithful."  Dehree  is  rather  a  system  of 


CHAP.  XIII.  DERVEESHES.  195 

atheism  than  anything  else,  the  name  of  whose  founder,  if  it 
had  one,  I  forget.     Whoever  desires  to  enter  a  fraternity 
must  take  some  sheereenee  (sweetmeats)  to  the  chief,  and 
say  to  him,  "  A'i  wallah,  ya  Moorshid  talibam"  (Yes,  by  the 
Lord,  O  Moorshid,  I  am  a  seeker) .  The  moorshid  tells  him 
to  kiss  his  hand,  and  then  those  of  the  rest  of  the  disciples, 
after  which  he  gives  the  neophyte  a  certificate  assuring 
him  a  reception  among  the  fraternity.     Some  of  them  beg 
for  the  moorshid,  others  travel.     For  the  thousand  and 
one  names  of  God,  the  moorshid  imposes  on  the  novice 
a  thousand   duties  for   a   thousand    days.     Among  the 
Niamet-oollahees  the  novice  must  present  the  moorshid,  in 
addition  to  the  sheereenee,  with  a  coin  called  an  abassee, 
on   which  are   engraved  the  words  "La  illah  illallah" 
(There  is  no  God  but  God).     The  moorshid  repeats  to 
him  an  ayah,  or  verse,  of  the  Koran,  to  be  recited  daily. 
In  performing  every  act,  the  mooreed,  or  disciple,  must 
meditate  on  the  moorshid.     It  is  lawful  for  him  to  smoke 
chers.     Among  the  Zehabees  it  is  the  practice  to  mes- 
merise the  novice,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  by  staring  him 
out  of  countenance.     They  are  divided  into  two  classes, 
of  which  one  abstains  from  forbidden  things.     These  last 
assemble  on  Monday  nights,  and,  sitting  in  a  circle,  they 
repeat  Zikrs — that  is,  La  illah  illallah — for  hours  ;  they 
then  rise  and  move  round  until  they  foam  at  the  mouth 
and  become  half  mad.     The  other  class  abstains  from 
nothing  forbidden.     Everything  is  lawful.     They  practise 
neither  Zikr  nor  Fikr  (meditation  on  God),  but  they  must 
reflect  constantly  on  their  moorshid.     The  Jellalees  have 
neither  prayer  nor  fasting.     On  entering  the  fraternity, 
the  novice  must  buy  food  and  feast  the  derveeshes,  and 

K   2 


196  EELIGIOUS  FEEEDOM.  CHAP.  XIII. 

this  they  call  the  deegjoosh,  or  pot-hoiling.  After  the 
feast  the  moorshid  puts  a  piece  of  copper  of  the  size  of  a 
crown  into  the  fire  until  it  is  red-hot,  and  then  places  it  on 
the  wrist  of  the  mooreed.  Some  among  them  have  twelve 
of  these  brands  on  each  arm.  The  moorshids  send  the 
mooreeds  once  a  year  on  begging  excursions.  The 
Kemberees  seem  to  devote  themselves  to  the  praise  of  AH 
and  of  his  wars,  and  of  the  valour  of  Kember.  The 
Dehrees  appear  to  recognize  no  divinity.  Matter  in  their 
creed  is  eternal,  and  whatever  now  exists  has  existed  from 
all  eternity. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  government  of  Persia  is  a  des- 
potism, there  is  considerable  latitude  in  the  profession  of 
religion  in  that  country  ;  for,  however  Jews  and  Christians 
may  suffer  from  local  oppression,  neither  the  maxims  of 
religion,  nor  of  the  common  law,  nor  the  wishes  of  the 
government,  sanction  their  ill-treatment.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  an  open  profession  of  either  of  the  above-named 
religions,  a  Persian  Mahommedan  may  avow  any  opinions 
he  pleases.  Atheism  and  pure  deism  are  freely  at  his 
choice  in  his  own  circle  of  society.  He  may  revile  and 
ridicule  with  impunity  in  the  above  limits  all  systems  of 
religion,  including  Mahommedanism,  though  of  course  he 
would  suffer  castigation  were  he  indiscreet  enough  to 
profess  his  opinions  in  public.  Atheism  is  said  to  be  rare, 
but  deism,  it  is  supposed,  is  widely  diffused  among  the 
upper  classes  of  society.  It  is,  however,  suspected  that 
this  latitudinarianism  seldom  survives  youth  and  health, 
and  that  with  the  approach  of  years  or  infirmity  a  return 
to  old  opinions  is  generally  found.  A  Persian  gentleman 
who  was  very  intimate  with  the  members  of  the  Mission, 


CHAP.  XIII.  TRANSFER  OF  CORPSES.  197, 

was  remarkable  for  the  freedom  with  which  he  gave  utter- 
ance to  his  infidel  opinions.  The  simple  existence  of  God 
was  all  he  could  persuade  himself  to  admit.  Being  at- 
tacked by  cholera,  before  his  death  he  left  an  injunction 
that  his  body  should  be  deposited  in  the  holy  ground  of 
Kerbella.  This  is  the  ardent  desire  of  every  Persian, 
for  whatever  may  have  been  his  crimes,  he  then  feels 
certain  of  an  advocate  who  will  ensure  his  eternal  rest. 
Should  a  journey  to  Kerbella  exceed  his  means,  or  the 
devotion  of  his  relations,  Meshed  and  Koom,  the  shrines 
of  descendants  of  Imam  Hoossein,  both  of  which  cities 
are  in  Persia,  are  the  next  chosen  spots  for  interment. 
At  the  latter  town  a  woman,  Fatma,  not  however  the 
daughter  of  Mahommed  of  the  same  name,  is  the  presid- 
ing saint.  The  consequence  is  that  dead  bodies  are  con- 
stantly travelling  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  Persia. 

Not  long  after  our  arrival  in  Tehran,  when  riding  out- 
side the  town,  on  the  road  to  Hamadan,  which  leads  to 
Bagdad,  we  were  interrupted  and  detained  by  a  large 
caravan  proceeding  to  the  former  city.  A  number  of 
the  mules  were  laden  with  long  narrow  boxes  attached 
upright,  one  on  each  side  of  the  mule.  A  most  dread- 
ful and  almost  unendurable  smell  proceeded  from  the 
caravan.  On  inquiry  I  found  that  these  boxes  contained 
corpses  which  had  been  collected  from  various  towns  for 
a  length  of  time,  and  were  now  on  their  way  to  Kerbella 
for  interment.  It  is  a  revolting  practice.  The  boxes  are 
nailed  in  the  most  imperfect  manner,  admitting  of  the 
free  exit  of  the  most  dangerous  exhalations. 

One  of  the  gentlemen  attached  to  the  Mission,  travel- 
ling between  Hamadan  and  Tehran,  arrived  late  at  night 
at  a  village  where  he  lay  down  to  sleep  on  the  sakoo  of 


198  TRANSFER  OF  CORPSES.  CHAP.  XIII. 

a  large  stable,  very  much  fatigued  by  a  long  day's 
journey.  A  sakoo  is  a  raised  platform  at  one  extremity 
of  the  stable,  on  which  travellers  repose,  while  their 
animals  feed  around  them.  During  the  night  he  awoke 
exceedingly  unwell,  having  passed  a  harassing  time  in 
fever,  tormented  with  frightful  dreams.  On  striking  a 
light  an  unpleasant  cause  of  his  illness  was  discovered. 
He  found  that  while  he  slept  a  caravan  had  arrived  with 
a  cargo  of  corpses,  some  of  which,  emitting  a  horrible 
effluvium,  had  been  placed  on  the  sakoo  close  to  his  head. 
A  person  of  weaker  nerves  than  this  gentleman  would  have 
been  scared  on  discovering  who  his  neighbours  were. 

This  unceasing  transfer  of  dead  bodies  from  Persia  to 
Kerbella  and  the  neighbouring  shrines  of  Cufa  and 
Meshed  e  Ali,  is  a  heavy  drain  on  the  revenue  of  Persia, 
and  a  source  of  profit  to  Turkey.  The  stream  of  pilgrims  in 
the  same  direction  flows  with  equal  strength,  and  Bagdad 
may  be  said  to  exist  by  Persians  alive  and  dead.  It  is 
also  a  common  practice  to  make  dying  bequests  to  these 
shrines.  Moreover  there  are  pilgrimages  to  Mecca  and 
Medina  which  draw  money  into  Turkey,  though  to  a 
much  less  extent,  the  devotion  for  the  tomb  of  Ma- 
hommed's  grandson  far  exceeding  that  for  the  sepulchre 
of  the  Prophet  himself.  The  Persian  government  has 
often  attempted  to  stem  this  torrent  of  pilgrims  by  en- 
deavouring to  substitute  Meshed  and  Koom  as  objects  of 
popular  veneration.  But  nothing  has  sufficed  to  quench 
the  enthusiasm  for  the  memory  of  martyrs  whose  suffer- 
ings are  renewed  yearly  before  the  eyes  of  the  people. 
Thousands  still  flow  on  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  The 
difficulties  and  often  the  dangers  of  the  road  seem  to  be  a 
source  of  attraction  to  the  pilgrims,  perhaps  because  they 


CHAP.  XIII.  ALI-ILLAHISM.  199 

enhance  the  merit.  Reckless  Koords  and  Arabs  are 
sometimes  to  be  encountered,  and  always  the  extortion 
and  reviling  of  the  Turkish  authorities  and  their  subor- 
dinates. 

A  conspicuous  instance  of  religious  toleration  in  Persia 
is  to  be  found  in  the  existence,  in  large  numbers,  of  the 
sect  called  Ali-Illahee,  which  implies  that  Ali  is  God. 
"  The  Lord  protect  us !"  an  orthodox  Persian  exclaims, 
on  hearing  this  blasphemy  asserted.  These  sectaries  seem 
not  to  differ  from  other  Mahommedans,  excepting  in 
affirming  that  Ali,  the  nephew  and  son-in-law  of  Mahom- 
med,  is  an  incarnation  of  the  Deity.  This  belief  appears 
to  be  an  exaggeration  of  Sheeahism,  of  which  the  founda- 
tion is  an  excessive  devotion  to  Ali  and  his  descendants. 
The  votaries  of  this  creed  are  very  numerous,  though 
chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  confined  to  the  genuine  Persian 
tribes  of  Lek  descent,  as  contradistinguished  from  the 
Koords,  who,  though  also  reckoned  as  a  Persian  race,  yet 
are  not  supposed  to  be  of  the  same  family  as  the  Leks. 
I  am  ignorant  whether,  among  the  Koords,  Ali-Illahism 
prevails  or  not.  Although  these  tenets  are  perfectly  well 
known  as  existing  to  a  large  extent  among  these  tribes,  not 
the  slightest  attempt  is  made  to  disturb  their  opinions. 
The  Ali-Illahees,  on  the  other  hand,  do  not  openly  proclaim 
their  dissent  from  the  prevailing  religion  of  their  country- 
men. A  member  of  the  mission  was  acquainted  with  a 
chief  of  a  tribe  the  whole  of  which  professed  Ali-Illahism. 
This  khan  frequently  asserted  that  among  many  of  his  creed 
it  was  believed  that  Christ  and  Ali  were  the  same  person. 
He  gave  a  list  of  thirty  Lek  tribes,  with  the  relative  num- 
bers of  Ali-Illahees  and  orthodox  Mussulmans  ;  but  I  do 
not  think  the  subject  of  sufficient  general  interest  to  give 


200  FEEEDOM  OF  SPEECH.  CHAP.  XIII. 

a  detail  of  their  names.  Being  all  eelyats,  and  therefore 
men  of  the  sword,  this  may  be  one  reason  why  they  do 
not  suffer  persecution.  The  Sheeahs  and  Ali-Illahees  of 
the  same  tribe  live  in  harmony  and  intermarry. 

Freedom  of  speech  in  Persia  is  on  an  equality  with  free- 
dom of  religion.  It  is  the  Persian  substitute  for  liberty  of 
the  press,  and  the  safety-valve  of  popular  indignation. 
Every  one  may  say  what  he  likes.  If  needy,  disappointed, 
or  oppressed,  the  sufferer  may  seek  consolation  in  reviling 
the  Shah  and  his  minister,  and  all  their  measures,  to  the 
contentment  of  his  heart.  At  least  until  very  recently  he 
could  do  so;  for  during  latter  years  more  frequent  inter- 
course with  the  Russian  Mission  has  led  to  the  introduction 
of  some  Russian  ideas  on  the  subject  of  liberty  of  speech. 
This  has  rather  contributed  to  its  curtailment  in  the 
capital,  though  in  the  provinces  it  subsists  in  full  force. 
Some  months  after  our  arrival  in  Tehran,  the  Prime 
Minister  established  a  newspaper ;  and,  to  ensure  its  diffu- 
sion in  the  capital  and  provinces,  he  made  it  obligatory  on 
all  employes  of  a  certain  rank  to  become  subscribers.  He 
placed  the  paper  under  the  management  of  an  English 
gentleman,  whose  duty  it  was  to  translate  extracts  from 
European  newspapers  suitable  to  Persian  ideas.  The 
"  leaders  "  were  often  the  composition  of  the  Prime  Mi- 
nister himself,  and  were  chiefly  in  praise  of  the  Shah's 
government ;  but  this  practice  is  said  not  to  be  confined 
to  Persia.  Censure  on  any  subject  was  rigidly  excluded, 
exactly  as  if  the  '  Petersburg  Gazette '  had  been  adopted 
as  a  model.  This  Englishman  enjoyed  no  sinecure ; 
besides  the  above  Gazette  for  the  public,  he  had  the  super- 
intendence of  another  newspaper,  designed  only  for  the  eye 
of  the  Shah  and  his  minister.  The  latter  journal  contained 


CHAP.  XIII.  MEERZA  TEKKEE.  201 

all  the  European  political  intelligence  deemed  unsuitable 
for  the  Persian  public,  besides  details  of  gossip  and  scandal 
likely  to  give  amusement  to  the  Shah.  Such  is  the  be- 
ginning of  the  free  press  to  be  established  in  Persia  five 
hundred  years  hence  ;  for  within  any  less  period  it  is  hope- 
less.* The  Prime  Minister,  Meerza  Tekkee  Khan,  was  a 
remarkable  man  in  many  respects.  He  had  a  keen  desire  to 
elevate  Persia  in  the  scale  of  nations,  and  to  rescue  her 
from  what  he  considered  the  thraldom  she  endured  from 
her  three  more  powerful  neighbours.  Having  passed  his 
life  in  Persia,  his  views  necessarily  were  often  wrong  or 
contracted,  though  he  tried  to  remedy  the  defects  of 
education  and  want  of  experience  by  conversation  with 
Europeans  on  the  system  of  government  in  the  Celtic  and 
Germanic  portion  of  the  world.  He  failed  from  want  of 
instruments  to  carry  out  his  projects,  and  through  pride, 
which  led  him  to  domineer  not  only  over  the  entire  body 
of  courtiers,  but  over  the  Shah  himself.  This  pride  was 
founded  solely  on  his  own  intellectual  superiority  to  his 
countrymen.  His  origin  was  very  humble  ;  but  in  Persia 
and  other  Mahommedan  countries  there  is  a  large  fund  of 
personal  equality,  and  obscurity  of  descent  is  not  an  ob- 
stacle to  advancement.  His  father  was  a  cook  of  Tabreez, 
who  gave  his  son  a  good  education,  and  found  the  means 
of  placing  him  among  the  meerzas,  or  scribes,  of  Azer- 
bijan.  Here  he  rose  to  a  high  post,  and,  at  the  suggestion 
of  Colonel  S ,  was  nominated  Commissioner  in  Turkey 


*  There  are  four  or  five  lithographic  printing  presses  in  Tehran,  where 
the  Koran  and  the  Persian  classical  productions  are  printed  and  sold  at 
very  moderate  prices. 

K    3 


202  VISIT  TO  THE  SHAH'S  PALACE.        CHAP.  XIII. 

,  '  fS 

for  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  between  the  two  countries. 

j^jtt>  Not  long  after  his  return,  a  new  succession  to  the  throne 
gave  him  an  opportunity  for  the  display  of  his  capacity, 
and  he  rose  to  the  office  of  Grand  Vezeer,  though  he  never 
assumed  any  other  title  than  that  of  Commander  of  the 
O> '/•>  '  Army.  This  was  a  whimsical  distinction  to  confer  on  him- 
self, the  army  having  been  at  no  time  his  profession.  Not 
satisfied  with  this  amount  of  prosperity,  he  aspired  to  a 
closer  alliance  with  the  Shah  by  contracting  marriage  with 
his  Majesty's  only  full  sister.  This  he  effected,  but  it  did 
not  add  to  his  power,  which  was  already  unbounded,  nor 
did  it  contribute  to  his  safety.  I  shall  have  to  recount 
his  tragical  fate  before  the  termination  of  these  pages. 

During  the  course  of  this  month  I  paid  iny  second  and 
last  visit  to  the  Shah's  mother.  Various  circumstances 
render  it  undesirable  to  form  an  intimacy  with  the  inmates 
of  any  Persian  anderoon.  If  it  were  only  on  account  of 
the  language  they  are  said  to  be  in  the  habit  of  using 
in  familiar  intercourse  among  themselves,  no  European 
woman  would  find  any  enjoyment  in  their  society.  On 
this  occasion  ceremony  was  dispensed  with.  After  par- 
taking of  tea  and  coffee  in  her  own  apartment,  therefore, 
she  and  all  her  attendants  accompanied  me  through  a 
variety  of  courts  to  a  fine  garden,  where  we  met  the  Shah, 
unattended  and  alone.  He  conversed  very  agreeably 
for  some  minutes,  and  then  came  with  us  to  the  new 
part  of  the  palace,  of  which  he  was  very  proud.  Some 
rooms  were  decorated  in  the  Persian  fashion,  having  two 
rows  of  light  pillars  on  each  side,  the  pillars  and  ceilings 
being  covered  with  small  pieces  of  looking-glass.  Some 
other  rooms  were  exact  imitations  of  European  drawing- 
rooms  ;  they  were  papered,  and  hanging  round  the  walls 


Nasr  ood-deeo.  the  MbaQ  of  Persia. 


Page  203. 


CHAP.  XI I  r.         VISIT  TO  THE  SHAH'S  PALACE.  203 

were  some  very  inferior  coloured  engravings.  One  room 
was  fitted  up  as  a  library,  having  glass  cases  filled  with 
manuscripts,  each  manuscript  in  a  handsome  brocaded 
cover.  Here  we  took  leave  of  his  Majesty  and  proceeded 
to  the  jewel-room.  I  am  not  a  judge  of  precious  stones, 
so  I  cannot  pronounce  an  opinion  on  the  value  of  the  gems 
I  there  saw.  Some  of  the  diamonds  and  pearls  seemed  to 
me  of  an  amazing  size,  but  so  badly  set  that  they  did  not 
look  to  advantage.  From  thence  we  went  to  the  china 
closet,  and  there  I  really  did  feel  covetous.  Such  magni- 
ficent jars  and  bowls !  and  apparently  quite  thrown  away 
and  forgotten.  On  our  return  to  the  anderoon  the  Shah's 
mother  made  me  observe  that  the  walls  of  the  court  had 
been  recently  painted  in  fresco.  Various  subjects  were 
represented,  but  she  paused  before  the  one  she  liked  best. 
I  suppose  it  reminded  her  of  some  of  the  scenes  of  her 
youth :  it  was  an  encampment  of  eelyats  in  a  green  plain 
— goats  and  sheep  were  grazing ;  here  and  there  women 
were  to  be  seen,  some  cooking,  some  carrying  water,  and 
milking.  "  Ah  !"  said  she,  "  there  is  a  happy  life — there 
is  a  charming  picture."  All  the  women  joined  with  loud 
approbation  in  these  sentiments.  "  Yes,"  said  they,  "  life 
under  a  tent,  with  fine  air  and  good  water,  and  fresh  lamb 
kebabs,  is  the  best  of  all  things."  She  also  showed  me  a 
picture  of  her  late  husband,  Mahommed  Shah.  She  shed 
tears  before  it,  and  struck  her  breast  as  a  sign  of  grief. 
I  believe  she  was  much  attached  to  him  at  one  time,  until 
his  neglect  alienated  her  affection.  She  sought  to  render 
herself  agreeable  to  him  in  a  way  which  to  Europeans 
seems  extraordinary,  but  which  is  not  uncommon  in  Persia. 
While  living  in  Tabreez,  when  Mahommed  Shah  was  only 
Crown  Prince,  she  wrote  a  piteous  letter  to  an  English 


204  THE  SHAH'S  SISTEE.  CHAP.  XIII. 

gentleman,  begging  him  to  lend  her  a  sum  of  money, 
saying  she  wished  to  join  her  husband,  who  had  gone  on  a 
distant  expedition  and  left  her  without  funds.  This  gen- 
tleman believed  her  story  and  lent  her  the  money.  She, 
however,  perhaps  taking  Sarah  for  her  model,  bought  with 

Jit  a  Circassian  slave-girl,  whom  she  sent  as  a  present  to 
her  husband,  instead  of  going  herself ! 

A  few  days  afterwards  I  went  to  see  the  Shah's  half- 
sister,  a  beautiful  girl  of  fifteen,  who  lived  with  her  mother 
in  an  obscure  part  of  the  anderoon,  neglected  by  the  Shah 
and  consequently  by  every  one  else.  She  was  really 
lovely ;  fair,  with  indescribable  eyes,  and  a  figure  only 
equalled  by  some  of  the  chef  d'ceuvres  of  Italian  art.  This 
is  so  rare  among  Persian  women,  that  she  was  one  of  the 
few  persons  I  saw  in  that  country  with  an  approach  to  a 
good  figure.  She  was  dressed  in  the  usual  fashion  of 
trousers  on  trousers,  the  last  pair  being  of  such  stiff  bro- 
cade, that  if  put  standing  upright  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  there  they  would  remain.  Her  hair  was  curled,  not 
plaited,  and  she  was  literally  covered  with  diamonds.  She 
was  quiet  in  her  manners  and  seemed  dejected.  She  was 
most  .anxious  to  hear  about  European  customs.  What 
seemed  to  surprise  her  most  was,  that  we  took  the  trouble 
.  to  undress  every  night  going  to  bed ;  and  she  asked  me, 
was  it  true  we  put  on  a  long  white  dress  to  pass  the  night 
in  ?  All  Persian  women  are  astonished  at  this  custom,  and 
are  quite  unable  to  account  for  it.  They  never  undress 
at  night ;  they  untie  their  thin  mattress  from  its  silken 
cover,  draw  it  out  from  its  place  against  the  wall,  and 
roll  themselves  up  in  the  wadded  quilt  which  forms  their 
blanket.  The  only  time  they  change  their  clothes  is  when 
they  go  to  the  bath.  If  they  go  out  to  visit,  they,  of  course, 


CHAP.  Xllf.  THE  DESERTED  CAMEL.  205 

put  on  their  best  garments,  and  take  them  off  at  night ; 
but  generally  they  lie  down  just  as  they  are,  and  even  in 
cold  weather  they  wear  their  chadoor,  or  out-of-door  veil, 
at  night.  This  young  princess  afterwards  sent  me  a  piece 
of  silk,  with  a  request  that  I  would  allow  my  maid  to 
make  her  a  gown  of  it,  as  she  wished  to  dress  in  the  Fe- 
ringhee  fashion,  to  see  how  she  looked.  I  felt  great  com- 
passion for  the  poor  young  girl.  I  do  not  know  what  has 
become  of  her ;  but  I  suppose  she  is  married  to  some  one 
very  inferior  to  herself  in  rank  and  position.  / 

February  5th. — In  taking  a  drive  to-day  outside  the 
town,  we  passed  a  poor  camel  seated  on  the  ground,  who 
gazed  at  us  with  the  melancholy  look  so  habitual  to  that 
animal.  It  seemed  to  me  he  looked  more  distressed  than 
usual,  and  on  stopping  the  carriage  to  make  inquiries,  we 
found  he  had  good  reason  for  sorrow.  He  had  received 
an  injury  which  had  rendered  him  useless  for  farther 
service,  and  his  master  had  cruelly  left  him  to  die  of 
hunger,  the  wretched  creature  being  unable  to  rise  and 
seek  for  food  in  the  desert.  This  barbarous  practice  is 
general  among  Persians.  All  old  and  worn-out  animals 
are  discarded  and  driven  out  to  find  a  subsistence  as  best 
they  can :  to  destroy  them  would  be  regarded  as  inhu- 
manity. Besides  this  there  are  some  qualms  lest  at  the 
general  resurrection  the  murdered  animal  should  take  the 
slayer  by  the  collar,  gereebanesh  begeered,  and  claim 
satisfaction.  My  husband  used  invariably  to  cause  the 
old  horses  of  the  Mission  to  be  shot,  instead  of  following  the 
custom  of  the  country  of  selling  them  as  packhorses,  or  turn- 
ing them  adrift  to  starve  on  the  roadside.  This  gained  him 
a  reputation  at  Tehran,  though  not  of  a  desirable  kind. 
The  kedkhoda,  a  very  old  man,  of  our  village  at  Goolahek, 


200  A  PERSIAN  COOK.  CHAP.  XIII. 

having  committed  some  misdemeanor,  he  was  threatened 
with  punishment.  "  I  dare  say  you  will  cause  me  to  be 
punished,"  said  the  kedkhoda  ;  "  are  you  not  that  Vezeer 
Mookhtar  who  causes  all  the  old  horses  to  be  shot  after 
their  faithful  services  :  so  why  should  not  an  old  servant 
like  me  be  punished  ? "  Persian  servants  often  give 
themselves  a  good  deal  of  latitude  of  speech.  A  Per- 
sian gentleman  complained  that  the  previous  night  his 
cook  made  him  ridiculous  before  a  party  of  friends  at 
dinner.  The  cookery  being  bad,  he  had  sent  for  the  cook 
to  vent  his  feelings  in  a  scolding,  and  told  him  that  his 
dinner  was  like  rotten  dog's  flesh.  "  Well,  khan,"  said 
the  cook,  "  if  your  mouth  tastes  of  rotten  dog,  it  is  not  the 
fault  of  my  dishes."  Every  one  laughed  at  the  khan  and 
applauded  the  cook.  But  to  return  to  the  poor  camel. 
We  went  to  the  nearest  village,  where  we  complained  of 
the  inhumanity  of  leaving  the  camel  to  starve,  and  told 
the  inhabitants  they  ought  to  kill  it.  In  a  moment  twenty 
of  them  sallied  out  with  their  knives  and  daggers  and 
killed  the  poor  fellow,  each  returning  with  a  piece  of  the 
flesh  to  cook  for  his  dinner.  Next  day  the  owner  came  to 
the  house  and  demanded  the  price  of  the  camel,  which 
had  been  slain  contrary  to  the  law.  Wishing  to  see  how 
the  question  would  be  decided,  my  husband  told  him  to 
lodge  his  complaint  with  the  moojtehed,  and  that  he  would 
abide  by  the  decision  of  the  law.  Not  long  after  a  note 
arrived  from  the  moojtehed,  decreeing  that  as  Colonel 

S had  acted  on  mere  presumption,  and  moreover,  as 

the  owner  was  justified  in  doing  as  he  pleased  with  his 
property,  he  was  entitled  to  a  tenth  of  the  value,  or  ten 
shillings. 


CHAP.  XIV.  TOORKOMAN  HOSTAGES.  207 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Toorkoman  hostages  —  The  banks  of  the  Goorgan  —  Toorkoman  horses 
—  Easter  —  Chaldsean  bishop  —  Mistaken  ideas  of  seclusion  among 
Persian  women  —  Dosing  of  Persian  doctors  —  Ashoorada  —  Suc- 
cessful foray  of  Toorkomans  against  the  Russians — Journey  to  Ispahan 
—  Dreadful  heat  —  Kouderood  —  Persian  beggar  —  The  unlawful 
lamb  —  Persian  pigs. 

February. — AMONG  the  curiosities  of  Tehran,  to  me  at 
least,  were  the  Toorkoman  women  whose  husbands  were 
living  in  the  town  as  hostages  from  the  tribe  of  Goklan. 
This  branch  of  Toorkomans  resides  in  the  vicinity  of 
Asterabad,  in  the  south-east  angle  of  the  Caspian.  Unlike 
the  other  Toorkomans  who  roam  in  freedom  between  the 
Caspian  and  the  Oxus,  the  Goklans  are,  from  the  above 
circumstance  of  their  close  vicinity  to  Persia,  more  or  less 
subject  to  the  Shah.  They  are,  on  this  account,  com- 
pelled to  furnish  hostages,  to  the  number  of  forty  or  fifty 
families ;  but  this  does  not  prevent  them  from  carrying 
their  foraging  excursions  into  Persia  whenever  commotion 
in  the  latter  country  affords  a  likelihood  of  impunity.  Did 
we  not  know  the  Toorkomans  to  be  one  of  the  most  de- 
testable races  among  mankind,  we  should  be  disposed  to 
commiserate  their  transfer  from  the  beautiful  scenery 
near  the  banks  of  the  Goorgan,  and  the  freedom  of  their 
alaichigs,  or  felt  and  wicker  tents,  to  the  shocking  atmos- 
phere of  their  habitations  in  Tehran,  where  they  are  never 
allowed  to  pass  the  gates.  However,  there  are  periodical 


208  CHARACTER  OF  THE  TOORKOMANS.     CHAP.  XIV. 

reliefs,  which  enable  them  to  return  to  their  obas  or 
encampments.  Men  and  women  are  extremely  disagree- 
able in  appearance,  and  the  women  particularly  so.  Their 
faces  are  flat  and  broad,  with  high  cheek-bones,  the  nose 
short,  wide,  and  flat,  the  eyes  small,  deep-set,  and  jet- 
black,  the  complexion  a  tawny  yellow.  As  they  belong  to 
the  genuine  Turkish  race,  one  is  astonished  in  comparing 
them  with  the  well-looking  Osmanlis  of  Constantinople, 
whose  forefathers  no  doubt  resembled  these  marauders. 
But  a  little  reflection  soon  explains  the  change.  Inter- 
marriage with  Georgians  and  Circassians,  Koords,  Arabs, 
Albanians,  Sclavonians,  Greeks,  and  Armenians,  has  no 
doubt  modified  the  frightful  Mongolian  features  of  the 
genuine  Turk.  These  Toorkoman  women  wander  through 
the  streets  with  the  utmost  unconcern,  wholly  unveiled. 
Their  dress  is  equally  remarkable  and  unbecoming ;  it 
consists  of  red  narrow  trousers,  and  a  coarse  red  cloth 
coat  or  vest  reaching  below  the  knee,  surmounted  with 
yellow  handkerchiefs  on  the  head  and  neck.  The 
character  of  the  Toorkomans  admits  of  as  little  praise 
as  their  persons.  That  they  should  be  avaricious,  greedy 
of  plunder,  and  ferocious,  is  the  natural  result  of  their 
mode  of  life.  But  they  are  also  reputed  to  be  full  of 
treachery,  and  ready  to  sell  their  guest  at  the  moment  of 
showing  him  hospitality  in  their  tents.  These  vicious 
traits  are  not  relieved  by  courage.  A  Toorkoman  is  a 
marauder,  and  nothing  more  ;  always  ready  to  pillage, 
and  always  avoiding  fighting  as  much  as  possible. 
They  do,  however,  sometimes  make  a  headlong  charge. 
One  of  their  chiefs  said  that  on  such  occasions  they 
couch  their  lances,  bend  their  heads  below  the  horse's 


OIIAP.  XIV.  THEIR  HORSES.  209 

neck,  shut  their  eyes,  and  then — Ya  Allah  !  forward! 
These  adamferoosh,  men-sellers,  are  the  bane  and  the 
bliss  of  Persian  pilgrims  to  Meshed.  On  the  one  hand, 
they  seize  and  carry  them  off  for  sale  in  Khiva  and 
Bokhara  ;  on  the  other,  they  help  them  to  Paradise  by 
the  merit  of  the  dangers  encountered  in  visiting  the  shrine 
of  Imam  Reza  at  Meshed.  Can  anything  more  dreadful 
be  conceived  than  a  body  of  these  ferocious  Toorkoinans 
dashing  down  at  the  dawn  of  day  on  a  helpless  village,  or 
still  more  helpless  caravan  of  pilgrims, — men,  women,  and 
children  ?  The  old  and  feeble  are  killed,  the  others  are 
bound,  and  hastily  carried  off  to  the  desert.  They  call 
themselves  Soonnee  Mahommedans,  and  on  that  pretext 
make  it  lawful  to  carry  off  Persian  Sheeahs.  Should  any 
of  their  captives  happen  to  be  Soonnees,  like  men  of  con- 
science, unwilling  to  break  the  law,  the  Toorkomans  beat 
them  until  they  proclaim  themselves  Sheeahs.  The  good- 
ness of  their  horses  enables  them  to  make  forays  of 
immense  length.  Formerly,  when  Persia  was  disturbed 
and  divided,  they  used  to  make  chepawuls,  or  forays,  of 
several  hundred  miles ;  but  in  these  days  they  do  not 
venture  on  such  distant  excursions,  where  retreat  might 
be  difficult.  It  is  said  that,  after  being  trained,  these 
horses  can  travel  a  hundred  miles  a-day  for  several 
consecutive  days.  Their  pace  is  described  to  be  a  long 
straddling  walk,  approaching  to  a  trot,  which  they  main- 
tain almost  day  and  night.  The  rider's  powers  of  bearing 
fatigue  must  be  not  far  short  of  those  of  the  animal. 
Captives  in  good  circumstances  can  always  ransom  them- 
selves. The  sister  of  a  gentleman  of  Afghanistan,  a 
pensioner  of  the  British  Government,  coming  from  Meshed 


210  EASTER.  CHAP.  XIV. 

with  her  family,  was  carried  off  by  the  Yamoot  Toorko- 
mans,  midway  between  that  city  and  Tehran.  Her 
release  cost  500  tomans,  about  250/.  Had  she  not  been 
ransomed  she  would  certainly  have  been  sold  in  Khiva. 
I  have  frequently  seen  at  the  gate  of  the  Mission  very  poor- 
looking  men  with  long  chains  suspended  from  their  necks. 
This  was  a  signal  that  sons  or  daughters  had  been  carried 
off  by  the  Toorkomans,  whose  release  they  were  endea- 
vouring to  purchase  by  collecting  alms.  The  Goklans 
are  a  comparatively  small  tribe,  of  about  ten  thousand  tents 
or  families,  and  live  surrounded  by  enemies.  On  the 
north  are  the  Yamoot  Toorkomans,  dwelling  on  the  rivers 
Atrek  and  Goorgan  ;  on  the  east  are  the  Tekkeh  Toork- 
omans ;  and  on  the  south  is  Persia.  The  two  former 
tribes  are  very  powerful,  and  both  wage  constant  feuds 
with  the  Goklans ;  but  the  Toorkomans  never  sell  one 
another.  The  Goklans  are,  however,  a  compact,  united 
tribe,  dwelling  in  a  strong  country,  and  maintain  their 
ground  well.  These  marauders  sometimes  carry  their 
boldness  to  such  a  length  as  to  seize  people  close  to  the 
ramparts  of  Asterabad — nay,  even  occasionally  within 
the  walls — and  carry  them  off  to  the  desert. 

March.  —  Nowrooz  and  the  other  festivals  passed 
exactly  as  the  year  before,  and  were  therefore  deprived 
of  any  interest,  from  the  absence  of  novelty.  Our 
own  religious  festival  of  Easter  was  approaching,  and  it 
was  time  to  think  of  that  solemnity.  One  of  the  incon- 
veniences of  Tehran  to  a  Catholic  family  was  the  want  of 
a  clergyman  of  that  church,  whom  we  consequently  were 
obliged  to  send  for  from  a  distance.  On  one  occasion,  a 
French  gentleman  of  the  order  of  Lazarists  had  travelled 


CHAP.  XIV.  CHALDEAN  BISHOP.  211 

five  hundred  miles  to  Tehran  at  our  earnest  desire,  and 
after  some  time  returned  the  same  long  journey  to 
Salmas,  in  Azerbijan.  At  another  time,  a  Catholic 
Armenian  clergyman,  who  had  been  educated  at  Rome, 
came  from  Ispahan  to  oblige  us  ;  and  on  a  third  occasion 
we  were  indebted  to  a  bishop  of  the  Chaldean  Catholics 
in  Azerbijan,  who  came  from  Tabreez,  four  hundred  miles, 
to  render  us  spiritual  assistance.  The  bishop  was  a  man 
of  strikingly  imposing  and  dignified  appearance  ;  he  had 
formerly  been  Patriarch  to  the  Chaldean  Catholics  in 
Moosul,  from  which  place  he  had  been  transferred  to 
Azerbijan.  He  too  had  been  educated  in  Rome,  and 
spoke  Italian  perfectly.  To  us,  who  had  been  always 
accustomed  to  hear  Mass  said  in  the  Latin  language,  it 
was  strange  to  listen  to  the  service  in  old  Armenian, 
which  not  even  the  Armenian  congregation  who  attended 
at  our  chapel  understood,  and  in  ancient  Kaldanee,  or 
Chaldaean.  It  will  surprise  some  English  people  to  hear 
that  Latin  is  not  the  universal  language  of  Roman  Catho- 
lics in  their  religious  ceremonies ;  but  any  one  who  on 
Twelfth  Day  has  been  in  the  Church  of  the  Propaganda 
in  Rome  will  have  seen  Mass  celebrated  in  Coptic,  ancient 
Greek,  Syriac,  Armenian,  Chaldaic,  and  other  old  tongues, 
which,  like  Latin,  have  now  ceased  to  be  the  colloquial 
language  of  the  people.  This  Chaldean  Bishop  did  not 
seem  to  be  filled  with  charitable  sentiments  towards  his 
brethren  of  the  Nestorian  faith,  particularly  towards  the 
clergy  of  that  community.  Being  himself  a  man  of  edu- 
cation, he  was  at  no  loss  for  opportunities  of  ridiculing 
their  ignorance,  forgetful  of  their  seclusion  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Koordistan,  and  of  what  he  himself  would  have 


212  FREEDOM  OF  PERSIAN  WOMEN.       CHAP.  XIV. 

been  had  not  his  good  fortune  sent  him  to  Rome.  In 
worldly  wealth  this  successor  of  the  Apostles  was  very 
primitive ;  one  of  his  flock  acted  both  as  servant  and 
clerk,  and  a  small  remuneration  was  a  sufficient  induce- 
ment for  undertaking  the  long  and  fatiguing  journey  from 
Tabreez  to  Tehran.  His  revenue  was  entirely  derived 
from  the  voluntary  contributions  of  his  flock  ;  and  even 
this  scanty  source  of  subsistence  had  recently,  owing  to 
some  disagreements,  ceased.  The  "  voluntary  system  "  is 
certainly  not  a  thriving  one  in  the  East,  whether  for 
Armenians  or  Chaldseans,  Catholic  or  otherwise.  I  have 
never  seen  a  clergyman  of  these  communities  who  did  not 
seem  to  be  in  extreme  poverty  excepting  at  Tabreez, 
where  the  presence  of  wealthy  Armenian  merchants 
secures  for  their  priesthood  a  comfortable  subsistence. 
There  are  very  few  Catholics  in  Tehran,  and  the  greater 
part  of  these  were  Europeans.  Our  congregation  seldom 
exceeded  from  ten  to  fifteen  people.  (E.) 

April. — My  residence  here  has  thoroughly  dissipated 
my  English  ideas  of  the  seclusion  and  servitude  in 
which  Persian  women  are  supposed  to  live.  Bondage,  to 
a  certain  extent,  there  may  be,  but  seclusion  has  no  exist- 
ence. Daily  experience  strengthens  an  opinion  I  had 
formed  of  the  extent  of  the  freedom  in  which  they  spend 
their  lives,  particularly  whenever  I  pass  the  door  of  the 
physician  to  the  Mission.  Jealousy,  at  all  events,  does 
not  seem  to  disturb  Persian  life  in  the  anderoon,  or  to 
form  a  part  of  the  character  of  Persians.  The  doctor's 
door  and  house  are  crowded  with  women,  of  all  ages  and 
of  all  ranks,  from  princesses  downwards,  who  come  to  him 
to  recount  their  ailments.  It  seems  their  applications  for 


ian   Women   seated  on  a  carpet 


tside  tbe  Doctor's  door. 

Page  313. 


CHAP.  XIV.         THEIR  VISITS  TO  THE  DOCTOR.  213 

succour  are  often  founded  on  most  frivolous  motives  ; 
gossip  rather  than  physic  being  frequently  their  object. 
Sometimes,  on  the  other  hand,  they  seem  to  think  all  the 
diseases  of  Pandora's  box  are  concentrated  in  their  persons, 
when  in  reality  they  are  perfectly  well,  but  still  insist  on 
being  "  treated."  A  princess  in  the  streets  of  Tehran  is 
as  little  distinguishable  as  a  peasant,  which  enables  her  to 
consult  her  medical  adviser  without  any  recognition  of  her 
rank.  The  dreadful  practice  of  the  Persian  doctors  is 
quite  enough  to  drive  the  fair  dames  of  Tehran  to  an 
English  physician.  I  am  told  they  give  the  most  nauseat- 
ing draughts,  in  immense  quantities,  to  their  patients — 
two  or  three  quarts  at  a  time.  Then  they  divide  all 
maladies  into  cold  and  hot,  which  are  to  be  attacked  by 
corresponding  opposite  medicines.  Thus  a  hot  disease  is 
to  be  combated  by  a  cold  remedy.  The  classifications  of 
these  last  are  somewhat  fanciful.  Pepper,  I  know,  is 
"cold,"  and  ice,  I  think,  is  "hot."  It  can  hardly  be 
otherwise  than  hot,  for  it  is  applied  to  the  stomach  in 
large  pieces  during  cholera.  It  must  be  admitted,  in 
extenuation  of  the  freedom  allowed  to  themselves  by 
Persian  ladies  in  their  medical  visits,  that  a  physician  is  a 
privileged  person  in  Persia.  The  anderoon  seems  open  to 
him.  Husbands  and  brothers,  in  company  with  their 
wives  and  sisters,  used  to  sit  in  their  anderoon  with  our 
"  hakeem  sahib,"  gossiping  and  chatting  as  gaily  and 
freely  as  they  would  do  in  Europe.  It  is  a  pity  that  these 
cheerful  Iranees  are  so  far  off;  they  would  otherwise 
soon  become  Feringhees.  AVith  all  their  alacrity  to 
endure  a  life  of  roughness,  or  even  hardship,  they  have  a 
vast  aptitude  for  luxury  and  enjoyment ;  which  may  be 


214  THE  SHAH  ON  A  JOURNEY.  CHAP.  XIV. 

regarded  as  the  high  road  to  civilization.  Their  wants 
are  increasing  daily,  and  these  wants  must  be  supplied 
from  Europe. 

May  1st. — To  the  great  dismay  of  all  the  courtiers  the 
Shah  has  resolved  to  undertake  a  journey  to  Ispahan. 
The  unpopularity  of  the  movement  is  general  and  reason- 
able. The  courtiers  are  expected  to  accompany  his 
Majesty  without  receiving  any  compensation  for  the  heavy 
expense  they  must  inevitably  undergo.  The  camp  of  a 
king  of  Persia  on  a  journey  resembles  that  of  a  large 
army.  There  are  cavalry,  infantry,  artillery,  bazars,  and 
camp-followers  innumerable.  Each  of  the  courtiers  has 
a  large  retinue  of  servants,  mules,  led-horses,  tents,  &c.  ; 
and  he  lays  in  a  store  of  tea,  sugar,  tobacco,  spices,  and 
other  edibles,  as  if  he  were  undertaking  a  voyage  of  dis- 
covery in  some  unknown  region.  This  arises  from  the 
nomadic  habits  so  prevalent  throughout  the  nation.  A  tent 
feels  to  them  like  a  house  and  a  home  ;  and  in  a  saunter- 
ing journey,  like  that  of  the  Shah  of  Persia,  they  love  to 
travel  luxuriously. 

We,  too,  prepared  with  regret  to  swell  the  pomp  of  the 
royal  camp.  The  daily  increasing  heat,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances, made  me  heartily  desire  to  remain  in  Tehran ; 
but  the  Russian  Mission  having  resolved  to  accompany  the 
Shah,  the  English  Mission  could  not  show  his  Majesty  less 
respect ;  and  I  thought  it  preferable  to  brave  all  the  dis- 
comfort of  the  journey  rather  than  remain  in  the  solitude 
of  Tehran. 

The  Shah,  intending  to  reach  his  destination  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route,  had  already  taken  his  departure  from 
Tehran,  when  intelligence  arrived  from  Asterabad  which 


CHAP.  XIV.  TOOKKOMAN  FOKAY.  215 

excited  alarm,  amazement,  and  ridicule.  In  the  island 
of  Ashoorada,  at  the  south-east  angle  of  the  Caspian,  the 
Russians  have  a  naval  establishment  for  their  ships-of- 
war,  when  cruising  in  the  ahove  portion  of  that  sea.  They 
seldom  have  at  this  station  less  than  two  or  three  vessels 
of  their  military  navy,  whose  occupation  is  ostensibly  con- 
fined to  the  coercion  of  the  neighbouring  Toorkomans. 
This  coercion,  it  may  be  presumed,  is  exercised  with  no 
light  hand  over  these  marauders.  These  Toorkoman 
Vikingrs  belong  to  the  tribe  of  Yemoot,  and,  by  means  of 
their  boats,  commit  depredations  on  the  Persian  coast, 
carrying  off  men,  women,  and  children,  with  every  other 
description  of  booty.  Not  being  permitted  to  main- 
tain a  navy  on  their  own  sea,  the  helpless  Persians  are 
forced  to  have  recourse  to  Russia  for  protection.  The 
Toorkomans,  smarting  under  a  control  so  foreign  to  their 
habits,  and  annoyed  by  the  deprivation  of  their  usual  pil- 
laging excursions,  determined  to  have  revenge.  It  was  a 
bold  thing  of  these  half-armed  barbarians  to  think  even  of 
contending  in  their  open  boats  with  the  steamers  and  sol- 
diers of  Russia ;  nevertheless  they  ventured,  and  in  the 
execution  of  their  plan  they  showed  a  keen  appreciation 
of  the  character  and  habits  of  the  Russians  On  Easter 
eve,  or  Easter  night,  when  every  Muscovite  is  supposed  to 
be  engaged  in  libations  of  thanksgiving  for  release  from 
his  rigorous  fast,  they  landed  in  a  creek  of  the  small 
island,  and  immediately  made  their  onslaught  on  the 
Russians  living  on  shore.  No  resistance  was  made — 
perhaps  the  advanced  stage  to  which  their  festivities  had 
been  carried  admitted  of  none — so,  at  least,  it  was  cur- 
rently said  at  Tehran.  Some  Russians  were  killed  and 


216  JOURXEY  TO  ISPAHAN.  CHAP.  XIV. 

wounded,  and  ten  or  fifteen  persons,  men  and  women, 
were  earned  into  slavery  by  the  Toorkomans,  who  returned 
without  delay  to  the  mainland.  But  the  amazing  and 
amusing  part  of  the  affair  was  the  conduct  of  the  war- 
steamer  lying  in  the  harbour.  Not  the  least  attempt  was 
made  to  succour  the  beleaguered  party  on  shore.  She 
got  up  her  steam  and  rushed  about  the  harbour,  firing  her 
guns  at  everything  and  nothing.  The  Persians  said  that 
she,  too,  was  evidently  as  drunk  as  the  crew.  This 
humiliating  blow  from  a  few  half-armed  barbarians  has 
made  the  Russian  Mission  look  very  grave,  dignified,  and 
menacing.  The  occurrence  is  alarming,  too ;  for  no  one 
thinks  it  will  remain  long  without  a  sequel,  as  these  Yemoot 
Toorkomans  are  nominally  Persian  subjects,  or  at  least 
claimed  as  such.  In  their  lively,  bantering  manner,  the 
Persians  protest  that  the  whole  transaction — attack, 
slaughter,  and  capture — was  got  up  and  instigated  by  the 
Russians  themselves,  as  a  prelude  to  further  encroach- 
ments. But  we  must  commence  our  journey  to  Ispahan, 

and  leave  Prince  to  decide  the  matter  with   his 

"  auguste  maltre." 

Kouderood,  May  21st. — We  quitted  Tehran  on  the 
llth,  and  have  got  over  only  half  our  most  fatiguing 
journey.  On  leaving  the  city  the  thermometer  was  at  the 
very  endurable  temperature  of  75° ;  but  the  moment  we 
entered  the  tents  it  rose  to  95°,  and  daily  increased.  This 
sudden  change  was  overwhelming.  I  never  suffered  so 
much ;  and  every  one  seemed  equally  depressed.  Our 
mode  of  travelling,  too,  augmented  greatly  the  discomfort 
and  fatigue,  but  was  absolutely  necessary  with  reference 
to  the  servants  and  horses.  We  started  every  morning  at 


CHAP.  XIV.  UXFOKTUNATE  COOK.  217 

three  o'clock,  and  halted  at  about  seven  or  eight,  when 
the  sun  was  overpowering  ;  then  recommenced  our  journey 
at  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  im- 
possible to  sleep  during  the  great  heat  of  the  day :  and 
often  the  nights  were  so  hot  that  the  only  moment  one 
could  repose  was  the  cool  hour  when  we  were  forced 
to  rise. 

The  person  most  to  be  pitied,  however,  was  our  unfor- 
tunate French  cook.  After  mounting  his  horse  at  three 
in  the  morning,  and  reaching  the  tents  at  seven  or  eight, 
he  began  his  operations  for  breakfast.  Whether  he  ever 
rested  at  all  I  do  not  know  ;  but  the  first  object  I  used  to 
see  on  arriving  at  our  encampment  for  the  night  was  poor 
Dunkel,  cooking  dinner  in  the  open  air,  with  a  few  un- 
burnt  bricks  for  a  kitchen-range.  It  certainly  was  "  de- 
solant,"  as  he  himself  used  to  say.  An  Englishman  would 
have  gone  distracted  under  such  circumstances  ;  but  the 
Frenchman  was  a  philosopher. 

Our  road  lay  through  the  district  of  Savah,  by  a  con- 
stant but  imperceptible,  descent.  The  city  of  Savah  is 
situated  in  a  burning  plain  where  the  soil  is  impregnated 
with  salt,  and,  like  nearly  everything  in  Persia,  is  in  com- 
plete decay.  We  were  now  advancing  into  the  centre  of 
the  great  province  of  Irak.  No  part  of  Persia  seems  to 
be  without  clans  and  septs  ;  for  here,  too,  and  in  the  ad- 
joining districts,  several  Toork  tribes  are  resident.  A 
wonderful  race  of  conquerors  were  certainly  the  Turks. 
Half  the  world  at  one  time  or  another  seems  to  have  fallen 
under  their  dominion  ;  and  not  only  did  they  achieve,  but, 
more  difficult  still,  they  often  contrived  to  preserve  their 
conquests.  Good  sense  and  courage  seem  to  have  been 

L 


218  EXCESSIVE  HEAT.  CHAP.  XIV. 

the  special  qualities  of  the  race.  Even  at  this  day  it  is 
possible  to  distinguish  between  the  Toork  and  Lek,  or 
genuine  Persian  tribes,  by  the  countenance.  The  former 
is  almost  invariably  marked  by  gravity,  and  often  by  un- 
couthness.  The  Lek  is  wild,  and  frequently  ferocious  in 
countenance.  He  has  a  keen  and  hungry  look  about  him 
that  reminds  one  of  a  tiger-cat. 

The  heat  at  last  became  so  excessive,  and  I  and  others 
felt  so  exhausted  in  consequence,  that  we  took  refuge  in 
this  village,  or  rather  encamped  near  it,  to  recruit  our 
strength  in  its  more  elevated  position.  This  is  the  great 
advantage  possessed  by  Persia  over  other  hot  countries. 
In  few  places  is  it  out  of  one's  power  to  ascend  from  a  hot, 
burning  plain  to  a  delightful  yeilak,  where  one  is  revived 
by  comparatively  cool  breezes.  We  have  now  been  here 
nearly  a  week,  and  are,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  to  leave  it  in  a 
day  or  two.  Our  tents  are  pitched  close  to  a  clear  stream, 
near  a  grove  of  olives,  and  there  are  a  few  large  trees 
overshadowing  us.  On  a  hill  near  us  are  the  ruins  of 
some  old  castle,  which  looks  very  picturesque.  The 
ground  is  covered  with  wild  flowers  and  aromatic  herbs  ; 
and  our  olive  grove  is  filled  with  nightingales.  Frances 
and  Crab  spend  their  day  paddling  in  the  stream ;  and, 
altogether,  I  feel  sure  any  change  we  make  will  be  for  the 
worse. 

Sultanabad,  May  25th. — We  have  left  pleasantKou- 
derood,  and  have  again  descended  to  the  same  scorching 
atmosphere  as  before.  This  town  is  placed  as  usual  in 
a  plain  bounded  by  hills ;  but  in  this  instance  the  plain 
was  fertile,  covered  with  cornfields  nearly  ready  for  the 
sickle.  The  town  looks  more  thriving  than  customary, 


CHAP.  XIV.  AX  INDEPENDENT  BEGGAR.  219 

owing,  perhaps,  to  its  containing  several  manufactories,  or 
rather  looms,  for  making  silk. 

I  was  a  good  deal  s£ruck  by  the  conduct  of  a  beggar, 
very  old  and  decrepit,  who  approached  our  camp,  loudly 
demanding  charity.  I  sent  him  some  pence,  which  he 
sent  back  with  an  indignant  message,  that  "  Pool  e  seeah 
nemee-geerem  "  (I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  accepting  black 
(copper)  money).  This  was  the  more  curious,  as  a 
silk-weaver,  passing  by  the  tents,  in  answer  to  our  inquiry, 
said  that  his  wages  were  threepence  a-day.  This  sum 
appears  surprisingly  small,  particularly  as  almost  every 
Persian  is  married ;  but  the  price  of  food  is  on  a  corre- 
sponding scale.  I  question  if  the  extreme  cheapness  of 
Persia  be  owing  to  a  great  redundancy  of  food,  and  sus- 
pect it  may  rather  be  attributable  to  a  scarcity  of  money. 
Still  food  is  abundant :  bread  is  generally  twopence  for 
Gjlbs.  ;  mutton  a  shilling  for  Gilbs. ;  beef  fivepence  for 
G^lbs. ;  but  such  beef,  invariably  an  old  cow,  fit  for 
nothing  but  to  die  !  This  brings  to  my  mind  a  circum- 
stance which  gives  an  idea  of  the  kind  of  animal  considered 
fit  for  food  by  Persians.  Our  butler,  Mahommed  Agha, 
came  to  me  in  great  haste,  and  said,  with  much  solemnity, 
"  Khanum,  your  fattest  lamb  wants  to  make  himself 
unlawful,  therefore  I  propose  to  kill  him  at  once."  It 
appeared  the  poor  lamb  was  very  ill,  and  about  to  die, 
and  that  to  make  him  lawful  food  his  throat  should  be 
cut.  Persian  phraseology  is  sometimes  curious.  One  day 
Agha  Hassan,  our  head  groom,  came  to  me  and  said  that 
my  horse  had  become  my  sacrifice.  He  had  been  ill,  and 
this  was  his  mode  of  announcing  the  catastrophe  of  his 
death ;  the  meaning  being  that  my  misfortunes  had  de- 

L   2 


220  PERSIAN  PIGS. 

scended  on  the  head  of  my  poor  steed.  The  groom  had 
kept  a  pig  in  the  stable  with  the  horse,  for  the  purpose  of 
rendering  the  same  service  to  the  latter,  but  he  could 
not  avert  fate.  This  is  a  common  practice  in  Persia ;  and 
it  is  interesting  to  watch  the  friendship  which  springs  up 
between  the  pig  and  the  horse. 

These  domesticated  wild  pigs  are  peculiar  in  their  at- 
tachments. There  was  an  English  consul  at  Samsoon 
who  kept  one  of  these  animals,  which  used  to  accompany 
him  out  shooting,  and,  I  believe,  did  all  the  duty  of  a 
pointer.  He  was  miserable  apart  from  his  master.  When- 
ever the  latter  paid  a  visit  to  the  Pasha  or  the  Cazee,  he 
naturally  declined  to  allow  his  pig  to  accompany  him. 
The  pig,  however,  was  certain  to  ferret  him  out,  and  pre- 
sent himself,  equally  regardless  of  the  feelings  of  the  true 
believers  and  of  the  confusion  of  the  Consul.  These  in- 
convenient demonstrations  of  affection  cost  the  poor  pig 
his  life.  The  ungrateful  Consul  put  him  to  death.  Before 
finishing  with  pigs,  I  must  mention  another  anecdote  rela- 
tive to  their  wonderful  power  of  scent.  A  member  of 
the  Mission  was  once  chased  two  or  three  miles  open- 
mouthed  by  an  immense  half-starved  pig  over  hedges 
and  ditches,  walls  and  canals,  and  barely  escaped  with 
his  life.  He  had  a  piece  of  ham  in  his  pocket,  which  the 
pig's  potent  olfactories  had  discovered.  Every  one  knows 
that  the  flesh  of  this  animal  is  forbidden  to  Mahommedans, 
and  that,  in  general,  it  even  excites  their  disgust.  Yet 
they  sometimes  overcome  their  antipathy.  An  English 
gentleman  happening  to  receive  a  present  of  a  wild  boar, 
a  prince  of  the  blood  royal  insisted  on  dining  with  him, 
with  the  proviso  that  the  dinner  was  to  consist  solely  of 


CHAP.  XIV.  WANT  OF  WATER.  221 

pig.  Accordingly  pig  in  all  possible  shapes  appeared  at 
table.  There  was  roast  .pig  and  boiled  pig,  fried  pig  and 
grilled  pig,  and  pig's  head  and  pig's  feet,  of  each  of  which 
his  royal  highness  and  one  of  his  brothers  freely  partook.* 
These  dissertations  upon  pigs  have  drawn  us  away  from 
the  fertile  plain  of  Sultanabad.  With  all  its  salt  and 
sand  a  large  portion  of  the  soil  of  Persia  is  clayey  and 
good,  and  requires  water  only  and  population  to  fertilise 
the  plains.  The  want  of  good  government  has  dispersed 
the  population ;  the  want  of  population  has  dissipated  the 
water,  that  is,  ruined  the  kanats  ;  and  the  want  of  water 
has  converted  three-fourths  of  the  country  into  barrenness. 
I  begin  to  conceive  that  ancient  Persia  may  have  been 
peopled  in  a  high  degree. 


*  There  is  DO  reason  for  concealing  that  the  giver  of  this  eccentric 
feast  was  the  former  most  excellent  physician  of  the  Mission,  Dr. 
Charles  Bell.  Few  men  have  enjoyed  so  distinguished  a  reputation 
for  medical  knowledge  in  Persia  as  this  gentleman,  to  which  his  abilities 
well  entitled  him. — J.  S. 


PLAIN  OF  GILPAEGAX.  CHAP.  XV 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

Plain   of  Gilpaegan  —  Melon-fields  —  Various  travellers  in  Looristan 

—  The  manners  of  the  Loors  —  Derveesh  Ali  —  Khousar  —  Ispahan 

—  Former  splendour   and  general   decay  —  Shah  Abbas's   Hall  of 
Audience  —  Persian  frescos  —  Felicity  of  the  pigeons  —  The  Arme- 
nians of  Julfa. 

GILPAEGAN,  May  27th. — To  reach  this  city  from  Sultana- 
bad  we  were,  according  to  custom,  forced  to  cross  a  high 
pass.  One  would  he  disposed  to  imagine  that  Persia, 
which  is  a  succession  of  natural  fortifications,  would,  of  all 
countries  in  the  world,  be  best  able  to  resist  the  progress 
of  a  foreign  enemy.  Yet  few  nations  have  suffered  more 
from  the  aggressions  of  invaders  than  this.  From  all 
time  Assyrians,  Scythians,  Toorks,  Greeks,  Romans, 
Arabs,  Turks,  Afghans,  and  Russians  have  made  it  their 
battlefield. 

Our  only  incident  hitherto  has  been  a  deluge  of  rain 
during  two  hours,  which  speedily  filled  the  tent  with 
water  a  foot  deep.  I  sat  on  the  table  as  the  only  secure 
place  for  some  time  ;  but  I  was  conveyed  from  that  dis- 
agreeable harbour  of  refuge  luckily  just  before  the  pon- 
derous tent  fell  bodily  like  a  log.  Gilpaegan  is  an  ex- 
tensive and  most  fertile  valley.  Grain  is  so  cheap  in  this 
part  of  Persia  as  to  have  almost  only  a  nominal  value ; 
and  unfortunately  there  is  no  mode  of  exporting  it  unless 
by  mules,  which  is  too  expensive  a  process  for  a  distant 
market.  I  often  think  what  a  different  country  this  would 


CIIAP.  XV.  PLAIN  OF  GILPAEGAN.  223 

be  if  it  were  intersected  by  good  roads,  waggon-roads 
even,  instead  of  the  mule-tracks  which  now  form  the  com- 
munication from  one  city  to  another.  A  large  portion  of 
the  revenue  of  Persia  is  paid  in  grain,  which,  conse- 
quently, in  Central  Persia  is  not  a  profitable  arrangement 
for  the  Government.  I  remember  hearing  in  Tehran 
that  the  Shah  had  paid  his  gholams,  or  personal  guards, 
by  assignments  on  the  grain  revenue  of  Gilpaegan,  Me- 
layer,  Mehellat,  and  other  places  in  the  centre  of  Irak. 
His  Majesty's  paymaster-general  estimated  the  grain  at 
the  Tehran  price  ;  but  when  they  arrived  at  the  spot 
they  found  themselves  obliged  to  sell  it  at  less  than  a 
quarter  of  the  sum.  The  expenses  of  the  double  journey 
left  only  a  pittance  of  their  salary. 

The  town  of  Gilpaegan  was  in  a  more  than  ordinary 
state  of  decay.  An  impression  was  made  on  me  of  this 
place  by  a  present  of  a  camel-load — really  an  ass-load — 
of  roses.  They  had  no  stalks,  and  were  tied  up  in  a  large 
cloth.  As  soon  as  it  was  untied  the  sweet  perfume  filled 
the  whole  tent,  and  attracted  Frances,  who  sat  down  in 
the  midst  of  the  fragrant  heap,  and  would  have  made  a 
pretty  picture  with  the  roses  scattered  on  her  head  and 
lap.  I  am  told  that  in  this  part  of  Persia,  and  in  Ker- 
manshah,  melon-fields  are  to  be  seen  three  or  four  miles 
in  length,  and  a  mile  and  a  half  in  breadth.  I  really 
believe  there  is  no  exaggeration  in  the  statement. 

On  entering  the  valley  of  Gilpaegan  we  had  noble 
views  of  the  glorious  mountains  of  Looristan,  the  abode  of 
a  genuine  Persian  race,  the  worst  and  most  ferocious 
robbers  throughout  the  land ;  for  the  Toorkomans  cannot 
be  considered  denizens  of  Persia.  Their  poverty  and 


224  TRAVELLERS  IN  LOOEISTAN.  CHAP.  XV. 

their  barbarism  are  equal,  and  their  own  clan-feuds  in- 
terminable ;  otherwise  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  more 
peaceable  population  of  the  plains  to  live  in  their  neigh- 
bourhood. The  mountains  were  covered  with  snow,  look- 
ing grand  and  solemn,  and  exciting  a  lively  desire  to  pene- 
trate their  fastnesses.  Forty-five  years  ago  two  English 
officers,  named  Capts.  Grant  and  Fotheringham,  who 
were  sent  by  Sir  John  Malcolm  to  make  investigation  into 
the  state  of  Looristan,  were  both  murdered  by  the  tribe 
of  Feilee.  Other  Europeans  have  travelled  hastily 
through  the  territory  of  these  tribes,  whose  forefathers, 
in  all  likelihood,  partook  in  the  expedition  of  Xerxes, 
and  who  themselves  probably  preserve  the  manners  and 
state  of  society  of  those  days.  But  the  distinguished 
author  of  the  '  Antiquities  of  Nineveh '  has  had  the  rare 
fortune  of  passing  some  time  among  these  mountaineers, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  he  will  reveal  the  result  of  his 
experience. 

Europeans  have  been,  no  doubt,  deterred  from  pene- 
trating the  almost  inaccessible  haunts  of  these  lawless 
mountaineers,  either  by  the  danger,  or  by  the  want  of 
objects  of  curiosity  to  compensate  for  the  risk.  Yet  there 
is  an  attraction  in  examining  a  state  of  society  so  unlike 
our  own,  where  there  is  little  or  no  law,  and  where  per- 
sonal freedom  is  carried  to  the  verge  of  dissolving  the 
bonds  of  society.  This  is  the  state  of  civilisation  in  which 
Toorkomans  and  Loors  exist.  Every  man  is  his  own  pro- 
tector, and  allows  himself  the  fullest  liberty  of  action, 
knowing  at  the  same  time  the  penalties  of  trenching  on 
the  similar  rights  of  his  neighbour  Toorkoman  or  Loor. 
A  nearer  examination  generally  dispels  the  visions  one 


CHAP.  XV.  TRAVELLERS  IN  LOORISTAN.  225 

may  have  formed  of  these  supposed  unsophisticated  beings, 
passing  their  lives  in  the  solitude  of  their  mountains, 
engaged  in  the  care  of  their  flocks  and  herds.  The  un- 
veiled display  of  intense  avarice,  of  poverty,  squalor, 
ferocity,  idleness,  and  tyranny  among  the  men,  toil  and 
slavery  among  the  women,  soon  displays  the  naked  reality, 
and  disgust  succeeds  sympathy. 

Mr.  Riach,  formerly  physician  to  the  Mission  in  Persia, 
made  a  journey  through  these  mountains  with  a  caravan 
many  years  ago.  The  journey  from  Kermanshah  to 
Desfool  occupied  eleven  days.  The  population  along  the 
road  was  nearly  all  residing  in  tents,  and  had  every  ap- 
pearance of  the  greatest  poverty,  which  prevents  them 
from  procuring  arms,  otherwise  the  country  would  be 
impassable.  Clubs  and  stones  are  their  weapons.  The 
travellers  never  ventured  to  undress  to  go  to  bed  on  this 
march,  so  imminent  was  the  danger  of  an  attack  of  the 
Loors.  The  state  of  society  was  such,  that  old  clothes, 
needles,  pepper,  and  salt  were  better  than  money  for  pro- 
curing necessaries.  He  describes  the  Loors  to  be  "  hand- 
some, strapping,  ferocious-looking  fellows,  and  far  from 
civil." 

It  is  strange  that  in  these  savage  regions  Mr.  Riach 
should  have  found  the  ruins  of  the  "  finest  bridge  he  had 
seen  in  Asia."  The  two  extremities  rested  on  rocks  three 
hundred  feet  apart,  and  thirty  or  forty  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  stream.  The  few  arches  remaining  were 
supported  by  pillars  of  great  size,  and  the  span  of  one  of 
them  was  not  less  than  sixty  or  eighty  feet,  and  eighty  or 
ninety  feet  in  height,  the  whole  formed  of  hewn  stone. 
Who  can  have  built  this  ? 

L  3 


226  DERYEESH  ALL  CHAP.  XV. 

More  than  twenty  years  ago  another  Englishman  lived 
among  these  tribes.  He  assumed  the  character  of  a 
Mussulman  and  derveesh,  and  called  himself  by  the 
name  of  Derveesh  Ali.  So  well  did  he  personate  the 
character  that  on  one  occasion  he  appeared  at  Tabreez 
before  several  English  gentlemen,  and  exclaimed  "  Hoo, 
Hak  ! "  with  such  emphasis  and  discretion,  that  until  he 
addressed  them  in  English  his  disguise  was  not  detected.  In 
his  peregrinations  through  Looristan  he  had  taken  a  Loor 
wife,  whom  he  afterwards  found  it  convenient  to  exchange 
for  a  donkey.  Derveesh  Ali  was  a  very  eccentric  person, 
and  passed  many  years  of  his  life  in  wandering  over  the 
East  in  the  above  disguise. 

I  have  seen  extracts  from  a  journal  of  Derveesh  All, 
from  which  the  following  passage  will  illustrate  the  state 
of  society  in  Looristan  : — 

"  In  Looristan  proper  there  are  no  houses.  Half  the 
year  the  people  live  in  the  higher  mountains  in  arbours 
formed  of  twigs  and  bushes,  the  other  half  is  spent  in 
tents  below  the  mountains  in  the  germseer,  or  hot  region, 
during  winter ;  six  months  of  the  year  they  live  on  acorn- 
bread,  steeped  in  mud  to  remove  the  acrid  taste.  Saw  a 
girl,  sixteen  years  old,  reaping  corn  in  a  field,  in  the 
dress  of  Eve  before  the  Fall.  Gum  arabic,  gum  mastic, 
and  gum  tragacanth  abound  in  these  mountains ;  also 
sulphur  and  bitumen.  The  lower  range  of  mountains 
towards  Desfool  is  covered  with  large  oak-trees,  fit  for 
ship-building,  which  might  be  floated  down  the  Kerkha, 
and  thence  through  the  marshes  to  the  Tigris  at  Shat- 
cl-Had." 

Colonel  Rawlinson,  Colonel  Williams,  and  Baron  Bode 


CHAP.  XV.  KHOTJSAE— ISPAHAN  227 

of  the  Russian  Legation  in  Persia,  are,  it  is  said,  the 
only  other  Europeans  who  have  visited  these  mountains. 

Khonsar,  May  SOth. — From  the  hot  valley  of  Gil- 
paegan  we  were  delighted  to  reach  this  cool  spot.  The 
town  of  Khonsar  lies  chiefly  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep 
ravine,  and  therefore  does  not  partake  of  the  cool  breezes 
we  enjoy,  for  we  took  care  to  pitch  our  tents  on  the  high 
land.  Judging  by  the  climate  we  found,  I  conjecture 
the  cold  must  be  exceedingly  rigorous  in  winter,  on  which 
account,  perhaps,  the  ravine  was  selected  as  the  site  of 
the  city.  The  town  is  of  great  length,  and  is  pretty. 
The  valley  is  narrow,  full  of  fruit  and  other  trees,  which, 
to  the  exclusion  of  tillage,  seem  to  occupy  all  the  care 
of  the  inhabitants  ;  it  is  closed  on  both  sides  by  very  high 
mountains. 

Ispahan,  June  ~Lbth. — We  were  four  days  reaching  this 
renowned  city  from  Khonsar.  For  miles  before  ap- 
proaching its  walls  the  country  was  covered  with  corn- 
fields, melon  and  cucumber  fields,  vineyards,  and  orchards 
of  all  the  fruit-trees  produced  in  Persia.  Whoever 
wants  to  know  what  Ispahan  was  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago  can  consult  Chardin,  who  says  it  contained  six 
hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  and  was  twenty-four  miles 
in  circumference.  Now  the  population  is  supposed  to  be 
under  one  hundred  thousand — an  estimate  to  which  its 
untenanted  and  deserted  streets  give  credibility.  Its  cap- 
ture one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago  by  the  Afghans, 
who  committed  great  ravages,  commenced  its  downfall, 
which  was  completed  by  the  transfer  of  the  seat  of  the 
monarchy  to  Sheeraz  and  afterwards  to  Tehran.  The 
Ispahanees  bear  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  intelli- 


228  ISPAHAN.  CHAP.  XV. 

gent  and  industrious,  as  well  as  the  most  effeminate  and 
timid,  among  the  inhabitants  of  Persia.  The  inconceiv- 
able subjugation  of  their  city  when  it  held  five  hun- 
dred thousand  souls  by  a  body  of  twenty  thousand  Af- 
ghans, is  a  confirmation  of  the  latter  portion  of  this 
character.*  Still  enough  remains  of  fine  bridges,  mosques, 
beautiful  avenues  of  plane-trees,  and  crumbling  palaces, 
to  attest  its  former  greatness.  It  enjoys  the  inestimable 
and  in  Persia  the  rare  advantage  of  being  situated  on 
the  banks  of  a  fine  river,  which  covers  its  immense  plains 
with  abundance  and  fertility.  Its  desolation  and  lonely, 
silent  streets,  make  a  deeper  impression  than  even  the 
mouldering  ruins  of  its  departed  grandeur.  We  pass 
through  stately  bazars  of  immense  length  utterly  tenant- 
less  ;  not  a  human  being  in  them :  yet  even  now  Ispahan 
continues  to  be  a  place  of  considerable  trade  and  manu- 
facture, and  contains  many  wealthy  merchants — all  the 
great  roads  of  Persia  from  every  quarter  concentrating  at 
this  spot.  Its  silks,  velvets,  brocades,  satins,  chintzes, 
arms,  and  lacker-work,  bear  a  high  reputation.  The 
climate  has  a  character  superior  to  its  merits,  the  heat 
being  very  great  and  the  odours  overwhelming. 

September. — It  would  be  superfluous  to  describe  the 
curiosities  of  Ispahan  in  palaces,  gardens,  and  so  forth, 
when  they  have  been  already  so  ably  depicted  by  such 
writers  as  Morier,  Porter,  and  Fraser.  Besides  this,  the 


*  The  palm  of  timidity  is  disputed  by  the  Kashees,  or  natives  of 
Kashan.  A  body  of  soldiers  from  this  city,  being  permitted  to  return 
from  Tehran  to  their  homes,  made  a  petition  to  the  Shah  that  a  few 
of  his  ghoolams,  or  personal  guards,  should  be  ordered  to  see  them  in 
safety  through  a  dangerous  defile  near  Tehran.  This  is  a  popular 
anecdote  illustrative  of  their  reputation. 


CHAP.  XV.  HALL  OF  AUDIEXCE.  229 

prodigious  heat  and  exhaustion  arising  from  a  residence 
in  a  house  nearly  open,  with  an  aspect  only  to  the  south, 
had  fairly  wgrn  me  out  during  our  abode  of  nearly  three 
months,  and  prevented  me  from  undertaking  extensive 
researches.  Add  to  this  the  circumstance  of  her  Ma- 
jesty's subjects  having  received  an  increase  a  month  after 
my  arrival,  and  my  lack  of  enterprise  will  appear  ex- 
cusable ;  still  I  cannot  forbear  from  recalling  to  remem- 
brance the  splendid  maidan,  or  square,  of  Shah  Abbas, 
and  the  equally  splendid  mosque  at  one  extremity  of  the 
maidan,  to  the  gate  only  of  which  we  were  allowed  to 
penetrate.  The  inspection  of  some  of  the  palaces  of  that 
monarch,  who  appears  to  have  built  all  the  palaces,  and 
caravanseras,  and  everything  else  of  note  in  Persia,  gave 
us  great  pleasure,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  some 
attempt  is  now  made  to  rescue  and  to  preserve  them  from 
ruin.  The  building  which  made  most  impression  on  me 
is  the  large  hall  of  audience  called  Chehel  Sitoon,  or 
forty  columns.  Besides  an  unbounded  supply  of  looking- 
glass,  gilding,  and  paintings  on  the  walls  and  ceiling, 
this  hall  contains  several  frescoes  representing  Persian 
royal  life  two  or  three  hundred  years  ago.  The  colours 
are  vivid,  and  the  execution  by  no  means  .despicable.  I 
caused  some  of  them  to  be  copied  on  a  reduced  scale, 
which  I  preserve  as  souvenirs  of  Ispahan.  In  one  of  these 
paintings  Shah  Tamasp,  who  reigned  three  hundred  years 
ago,  is  represented  entertaining  his  refugee  guest  from 
India,  Iloomfiyoon  Shah  ;  the  courtiers  are  seated  around, 
dancing-girls  are  performing,  and  wine  and  drinking  cups 
are  not  wanting.  In  another,  forty  years  later,  we  see  Shah 
Abbas  himself  seated  with  the  Turkish  ambassador, 


230  ENGLISHMEN  AT  ISPAHAN.  CHAP.  XV. 

evidently  at  a  drinking-party.  The  Turkish  and  Per- 
sian courtiers  are  seated  on  each  side,  whereas  the 
present  etiquette  inflexibly  requires  them  to  stand 
with  folded  arms.  The  attendants  are  looking  on 
from  behind,  and  dancing-girls  occupy  the  foreground. 
It  is  evident  that  the  debauch  has  made  considerable 
progress.  In  one  corner  we  see  a  man  prostrate, 
very  drunk,  holding  the  wineflask  to  his  mouth ;  while 
another  of  the  carousers,  in  a  shocking  state  of  intoxi- 
cation, is  borne  away  in  the  arms  of  the  attendants. 
But  we  do  not  see  the  brave  Sir  Anthony  and  Sir  Robert 
Shirley,  who  often  partook  of  the  orgies  of  this  monarch. 
These  were  two  Englishmen  who  entered  the  service  of 
the  Shah,  and  who,  by  their  ability  and  military  qualities, 
raised  themselves  to  high  favour.  I  have  been  told  that 
these  two  gentlemen  were  among  the  first,  if  not  the  first, 
Englishmen  who  entered  the  Persian  service.  Hanway 
says  that  in  those  days  the  English  residing  in  Ispahan 
were  numerous,  and  lived  with  a  magnificence  amounting 
to  extravagance.  In  the  present  day  it  would  be  difficult 
for  a  numerous  party  of  Englishmen  to  find  subsistence 
in  Ispahan,  much  less  live  there  in  splendour.  The 
Suffavee  dynasty  of  monarchs  seem  nearly  all  to  have  been 
devoted  to  wine,  and  to  have  indulged  in  this  propensity 
without  scruple,  careless  of  the  opinions  of  their  subjects. 
Perhaps  their  subjects  partook  with  more  freedom,  or  at 
least  more  openly,  than  at  present  of  these  forbidden  en- 
joyments. From  these  paintings  and  from  the  memoirs 
of  Sultan  Baber,  the  founder  of  the  Moghul  dynasty  in 
India,  and  a  devout  worshipper  of  the  wineflask,  we  are 
able  to  judge  of  the  habits  of  Asiatic  royalty  in  those  days. 


CHAP.  XV.  ISPAHAN  PIGEONS.  231 

Persia  is  decidedly  the  country  for  men  of  good  luck, 
enterprise,  and  intrigue  to  choose  for  a  career.  Obscurity 
of  birth,  as  before  said,  is  no  bar  to  advancement,  nor 
does  it  prevent  the  "  right  man  from  being  in  the  right 
place."  In  this  point,  at  least,  Persia  has  a  superiority 
over  England.  The  late  Prime  Minister  was  a  school- 
master ;  I  have  already  mentioned  Meerza  Tekkee  Khan's 
descent ;  the  Governor  of  Ispahan  was  once  the  latter 's 
menial  servant,  and  a  previous  Governor  was  the  son  of 
a  small  greengrocer  in  the  same  city.  This  last  was  a 
man  of  great  capacity,  who  raised  Ispahan  to  a  high  state 
of  prosperity  ;  and  the  present  Governor,  if  not  possessed 
of  the  same  rare  abilities,  is  a  man  of  moderation  and 
firmness,  who  rules  the  people  with  equity,  and  pays  the 
Shah  his  share  of  the  revenue  without  undue  peculation. 
Ispahan  is  beginning  to  recover  from  the  deep  ruin  into 
which  it  had  fallen.  Its  remaining  edifices,  as  I  said  be- 
fore, are  protected,  its  commerce  is  improving,  and  the  mer- 
chants are  becoming  wealthy.  A  continuance  of  the  pre- 
sent moderate  system  of  government,  aided  by  the  won- 
derful fertility  of  the  soil,  will  ere  long  restore  to  this 
ancient  city  a  share  of  the  prosperity  it  once  enjoyed. 
The  late  and  the  reigning  Shah  have  often  formed 
schemes  for  establishing  their  capital  here,  but  reasons  of 
state  have  hitherto  prevented  this  desirable  change  from 
being  carried  into  execution. 

Ispahan  is  the  land  of  promise  for  pigeons ;  they 
swarm  like  locusts,  and  not  only  are  never  eaten,  but 
are  highly  cherished  and  thrive  accordingly.  Their 
residences,  high,  malakhoff-looking  towers,  painted  white, 
dot  the  whole  country,  and  these  buildings  are  evidently 


232  THE  ARMENIANS.  CHAP.  XV. 

objects  of  great  care — much  more  so  than  any  other 
edifices. 

We  resided  in  the  quarter  of  the  Armenians,  which  is 
separated  by  the  Zayenderood  from  the  Mahommedan 
city.  It  has  received  the  name  of  Julfa,  in  memory  of 
the  town  near  Nakhshewan,  from  which  these  Christians 
were  forcibly  conducted  by  Shah  Abbas.  Their  number 
was  then  estimated  at  twelve  thousand  families,  which 
are  supposed  to  be  now  reduced  to  six  or  eight  hundred. 
Notwithstanding  their  thrift,  the  Armenians  have  partici- 
pated in  the  general  decay  of  Ispahan.  They  have  been 
reduced  to  great  poverty :  one  sees  the  streets  crowded 
with  young  men,  sauntering,  or  seated  at  their  doors, 
without  any  employment,  They  go  to  India  in  great 
numbers,  where  they  are  distinguished  for  their  habits  of 
industry.  After  a  few  years'  exile  they  return  with  a 
competence  to  their  native  land  to  spend  the  remainder  of 
their  days. 

Their  spiritual  chief  is  a  bishop,  nominated  by  the 
patriarch  at  Etchmiatzin,  near  Erivan,  consequently  a 
Russian  subject,  like  his  colleague  at  Tabreez.  This 
Bishop  of  Julfa  visited  us  more  than  once  during  our 
stay  in  Ispahan.  His  appearance  and  manners  were 
highly  dignified  and  agreeable,  and  he  was  evidently  a 
man  of  education — very  different  from  the  unfortunate 
Armenian  clergy  of  Persia.  We  heard  that  he  was  in 
despair  at  the  ignorance  and  clownishness  of  his  clergy 
and  flock,  not  one  of  whom  did  he  find  to  be  a  suitable 
associate.  He  consequently  lived  in  solitude.  We  heard 
also  that  the  worthy  Bishop  condemned  himself  rigorously 
to  abstain  from  wine,  lest  his  life  of  solitude  should  seduce 


CHAP.  XV.  CATHOLIC  ARMENIANS.  233 

him  to  the  habits  of  inebriation  to  which  his  co-religionists 
are  often  addicted.  At  his  breast  he  wore  a  beautiful 
cross  of  diamonds  and  emeralds,  and  by  its  side  a  decora- 
tion of  the  same  materials  surmounted  by  the  double- 
headed  eagle,  showing  clearly  whose  subject  he  was. 

The  conventual  system  exists  among  the  "  orthodox " 
Armenians,  as  they  designate  themselves.  At  Ispahan 
there  is  a  convent  containing  six  or  eight  old  and  exceed- 
ingly ugly  ladies,  who  used  occasionally  to  visit  me. 
They  were  .evidently  extremely  poor ;  their  residence  was 
inconveniently  close  to  us,  as  I  used  every  night  to  hear 
their  loud  summons  to  matins  by  knocking  a  mallet  on  a 
piece  of  wood. 

We  also  found  here  a  small  community  of  Catholic 
Armenians,  presided  over  by  a  venerable  gentleman 
called  Padre  Giovanni,  who,  originally  from  Angora,  had 
been  educated  at  Rome,  and  had  afterwards  devoted  a 
large  share  of  his  life  to  the  care  of  his  humble  flock  at 
Ispahan,  where,  soon  after  our  departure,  he  died. 

It  happened  that,  attending  Mass  on  one  occasion  at 
his  church,  service  was  performed  in  old  Armenian  by  a 
Catholic  Armenian  clergyman.  To  our  surprise,  and  to 
the  consternation  of  our  Irish  servants,  we  found  that 
part  of  the  congregation  consisted  of  the  wife  and  three 
daughters  of  the  officiating  clergyman.  They  were 
ignorant,  and  we  had  forgotten,  that  the  discipline  of 
celibacy  among  the  priesthood  is  not  applicable  to  the 
secular  clergy  of  the  Eastern  churches  of  the  Catholic 
faith.  I  hear,  however,  that  marriage  is  allowable  only 
before  ordination. 

In  former  days  the  Jesuits  and  various  other  orders 


234  THE  ARMENIAN  CHTJECHES.  CHAP.  XV. 

had  each  their  establishments  at  Ispahan,  and  I  believe 
that  at  this  moment  there  is  ground  in  that  city  claimed 
as  belonging  to  the  French  Government,  in  virtue  of  some 
immunities  conferred  two  or  three  hundred  years  ago  on 
French  ecclesiastics.  Padre  Giovanni  and  his  small  flock 
were  then  the  representatives  of  all  these  establishments, 
the  names  of  whose  occupants  crowd  the  enormous  ceme- 
tery to  the  south  of  Julfa. 

There  is  great  similarity  between  the  two  Armenian 
churches,  "  orthodox "  and  Catholic.  I  do  not  know 
whether  this  title  "  orthodox  "  is  one  assumed  by  them- 
selves or  conferred  by  Protestant  American  writers.  I 
believe  it  is  the  latter.  The  ceremonial  in  regard  to 
the  use  of  vestments,  incense,  candles,  veneration  for  pic- 
tures, but  not  images,  representing  sacred  subjects,  holy 
water,  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  similar  minor  observ- 
ances, is  much  alike  in  both  creeds.  In  doctrine  the 
great  difference  seems  to  be  the  disavowal  of  the  spiritual 
authority  of  the  Pope  by  the  Armenians,  their  rejection 
of  certain  general  councils,  and  a  disagreement  from 
Catholics,  as  well  as  Protestants,  in  the  procession  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  They  also  acknowledge  onjy  one  nature 
in  Christ,  and  anathematize  all  who  dissent  from  this 
doctrine.  It  is  on  this  account  that  they  are  considered 
as  schismatics  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  Transubstantia- 
tion,  baptism,  confession,  and  the  remainder  of  the  seven 
sacraments,  are  alike  in  the  two  churches.  Purgatory  is 
nominally  rejected;  still  masses,  prayers,  and  alms  are 
offered  for  the  dead.  They  communicate  in  two  kinds, 
— by  dipping  the  bread  in  the  wine.  As  in  the  Ca- 
tholic Church,  the  bond  of  matrimony  can  be  annulled 


CIIAP.  XV.  THE  AEMEXIAN  CHURCHES.  235 

only  by  death ;  they  also  admit  the  efficacy  of  good 
works. 

The  fasts  are  most  numerous,  far  surpassing  in  number 
and  rigour  those  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith :  they 
exceed  one  hundred  and  fifty  days  in  the  year  ;  meat  and 
fish  of  every  kind,  with  eggs,  milk,  butter,  cheese,  are 
excluded  from  consumption  on  these  days.  It  is  said, 
moreover,  that  the  Armenians  are  rigid  in  the  observance 
of  this  ordinance. 

The  practice  of  covering  the  mouth,  even  in  their 
houses,  seems  to  prevail  among  Armenian  women  every- 
where. They  live,  especially  the  married  women,  in  a 
state  of  seclusion  much  more  severe  than  that  imposed  on 
Persian  females.  A  woman,  for  years  after  her  marriage, 
is  not  allowed  to  see  her  nearest  male  relations.  She 
lives  in  complete  silence  for  a  long  time,  and  conceals  her 
face  from  even  her  husband's  father  and  mother.  They 
are,  in  fact,  menial  servants ;  their  ignorance  is  extreme, 
it  not  being  considered  prudent  to  give  them  any  educa- 
tion. Though  much  fairer  than  Persian  women,  their 
appearance  is  exceedingly  coarse ;  their  countenance 
often  possesses  a  wonderfully  crimson  hue,  not,  however, 
of  an  agreeable  tinge,  as  it  reminds  one  too  strongly  of 
the  source  from  which,  if  fame  does  not  slander  them,  it 
is  often  derived.  They  have  the  reputation  of  indulging 
sometimes  in  the  deep  potations  to  which  the  Armenian 
men  are  habitually  addicted. 

I  have  been  told  that  there  is  a  striking  uniformity  in 
the  character  of  Armenians  in  all  parts  of  the  world — at 
least  in  the  East — Persia,  Turkey,  Russia,  and  India.  It 
possesses  some  qualities  calculated  to  attract  regard,  and 


236  THE  ARMENIANS.  CHAP.  XV. 

the  inflexible  tenacity  with  which  the  Armenian  has  clung 
to  his  faith  during  centuries  of  persecution  claims  respect. 
He  is  a  model  of  frugality  and  self-denial,  excepting,  it 
must  be  avowed,  when  he  encounters  the  temptation  of 
the  wine-skin.  With  little  to  boast  of  in  point  of  honesty, 
he  nevertheless  exceeds  the  other  natives  of  the  countries 
where  he  resides  in  these  virtues.  A  most  keen  and 
indefatigable  trader,  Tartary  and  China  are  the  limits  of 
his  commercial  enterprise  in  the  East.  His  hatred  to 
the  profession  of  arms  is  extreme.  It  may  be  doubted 
if  the  recent  concession  in  Turkey  of  the  abolition  of 
the  kharaj,  or  poll-tax,  will  be  a  boon  to  this  real  "  peace 
party  "  in  the  East.  In  Persia,  I  am  satisfied,  the  Ar- 
menian would  rather  pay  a  double  poll-tax  than  be  a 
soldier.  Oppression  has  made  him  timid  and  cringing, 
yet,  with  all  his  defects,  the  Armenian  is  certainly  an 
improvable  person,  willing  to  adapt  himself  to  the  pro- 
gress of  civilization. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Ispahan  there  is 
a  district  called  Feraidoon,  inhabited  by  Armenians,  who 
form  a  complete  exception  to  the  above  remarks.  They 
are  courageous,  warlike,  and  always  ready  to  appeal  to 
arms  in  their  unceasing  feuds  with  their  neighbours  the 
Bakhtiarees. 

The  uniformity  observable  in  their  characters  exists 
also  in  their  features.  Their  faces  are  large  and  full, 
with  prominent  hooked  noses,  rendering  them  extremely 
like  the  sons  of  Israel  in  countries  where  the  fine  coun- 
tenances of  the  latter  are  not  deformed  by  oppression. 
The  appearance  of  the  women  has  been  described  in  a 
previous  page. 


CHAP.  XV.  THE  ARMENIANS.  237 

The  industrious  habits  of  the  Armenians  make  them 
valuable  as  Rayas  or  Ryots  in  Turkey  and  Persia.  In 
both  countries,  particularly  in  Turkey,  a  Mahommedan 
landlord  much  prefers  that  his  tenants  should  be  com- 
posed of  Armenians  rather  than  Mussulmans.  As  far 
as  my  husband's  observation  extends,  the  treatment  of 
Armenians  and  other  Christians  in  Turkey  is  more  just 
and  moderate  than  in  Persia.  This  remark  does  not,  of 
course,  extend  to  the  Turkish  Koords,  whose  treatment 
of  the  Nestorian  Christians  is  infamous.  It  is  not  that  a 
Persian  is  less  tolerant  than  a  Turk ;  on  the  contrary,  in 
many  respects  he  is  more  so ;  but  he  is  more  covetous 
and  grasping,  more  profuse  and  extravagant,  and  the  law 
is  weaker  in  Persia  than  in  Turkey. 

Russia,  too,  seems  to  place  an  equal  value  on  an  Ar- 
menian population.  In  her  last  wars  with  Persia  and 
Turkey,  she  inveigled  many  thousand  families  of  this 
race  from  Tabreez,  Erzeroom,  and  the  adjacent  districts 
into  Georgia. 


238  MUSSULMAN  XUESES.  CHAP.  XVI. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Mussulman  nurses  —  Three  various  modes  of  counting  time  in  Persia 
—  Retribution  for  the  Russian  festivities  on  Easter  Sunday  at 
Ashoorada —  Partial  abolition  of  the  importation  of  slaves  —  Negroes 
in  Persia  —  Condition  of  slaves  in  Persia  —  Return  to  Tehran  — 
Bastinado  —  Punishment  of  a  general  for  being  defeated. 

OUR  residence  at  Ispahan  afforded  an  instance  of  the 
general  diminution  of  religious  prejudice  among  the 
Mussulmans,  even  in  places  where,  like  that  city,  there 
were  no  Europeans  resident,  from  whose  opinions  they 
might  take  example.  I  had  been  recommended  not  to 
engage  a  nurse  from  among  the  Armenian  women,  who, 
owing  to  the  food  they  are  forced  to  have  recourse  to  in 
consequence  of  their  rigid  fasts,  or  from  some  other  cause, 
are  considered  unhealthy.  I  therefore  sought  one  among 
the  Mussulman  women.  No  sooner  were  my  wants 
known  than  a  number  of  applicants  appeared.  Some 
years  ago  a  sort  of  compulsion  would  have  been  necessary 
to  induce  a  Mahommedan  woman  to  undertake  the  office. 
They  came  to  our  door  accompanied  by  their  husbands, 
and  then  entered  alone.  They  seemed  perfectly  indiffer- 
ent at  their  faces  being  seen  by  Englishmen.  Some 
among  them  were  not  poor,  their  object  seeming  to  be  to 
secure  a  protector  or  patron.  The  fact  of  quitting  their 
family  and  home  to  accompany  strangers  like  us  to  Tehran 
was  no  impediment,  although  they  were  to  be  perfectly 
alone ;  but  the  reputation  of  the  English  for  probity  and 


CHAP.  XVI.  MUSSULMAN  NURSES.  239 

the  faithful  performance  of  engagements  stands  high  in 
Persia.  Even  when  the  certificate  of  the  term  and  nature 
of  service  was  sent  to  a  cazee  for  registry,  not  the  least 
opposition  was  made.  The  young  woman  whom  I  hired 
was  very  poor,  and  full  of  anxiety  to  obtain  the  situation. 
Seeing  another  candidate  make  her  appearance,  she  be- 
came very  much  excited,  and  protested,  with  the  usual 
Persian  oaths,  that  if  she  were  deprived  of  her  office  of 
nurse  to  the  little  vezeer  mookhtar,  as  she  styled  the  child, 
she  would  instantly  fall  upon  her  rival  and  chastise  her 
severely. 

She  accompanied  us  to  Tehran.  I  have  had  a  good 
deal  of  experience  of  Persian  nurses  and  their  children, 
for  they  always  insist  on  having  one  of  their  elder  children 
with  them.  "  Khanum,"  they  used  to  say,  "  I  cannot  live 
without  Khatoon  (or  whatever  the  child's  name  was) ;  she 
is  the  light  of  my  eyes."  Notwithstanding  this  apparent 
affection,  if  their  children  were  troublesome  they  would 
rush  at  them  and  pinch  them  until  they  were  black.  One 
day  I  heard  a  great  commotion  in  the  anderoon,  and  on 
going  in  some  alarm  to  see  what  the  matter  was,  I  found 
that  these  women  were  discontented  with  their  pillao  and 
were  threatening  to  beat  the  ferash  who  brought  it  to  them. 
When  they  are  in  a  passion  they  tear  their  hair  and 
scratch  their  bosom  with  their  nails  until  the  blood  comes. 
It  was  curious  that,  young  as  my  daughter  Frances  was, 
when  she  tried  to  signify  her  indignation  at  anything  she 
wished  for  being  withheld,  she  used  to  imitate  exactly 
what  she  saw  the  nurses  do,  and  put  up  her  hands  to 
tear  her  hair,  and  sometimes  knock  her  head  against  the 
wall.  These  women  were  very  exact  in  their  devotions  ; 


240  RECKONING  OF  TIME.  CHAP.  XVI. 

at  daybreak  they  would  rise,  perform  the  prescribed  ablu- 
tions, and  unwrapping  a  stone  that  had  been  brought  from 
Kerbella,  placing  it  carefully  towards  Mecca,  they  went 
through  the  usual  form  of  prostration  and  prayer ;  this 
they  repeated  three  times  every  day.  To  amuse  them- 
selves during  the  day,  one  would  sometimes  beat  the 
tambourine  and  the  other  dance.  They  could  hardly  sew 
their  own  clothes  ;  indeed,  the  greater  part  of  their  time 
was  spent  in  sleeping,  which  is  a  mode  many  women 
adopt  of  arriving  at  the  degree  of  embonpoint  thought 
becoming.  They  used  to  go  once  a  week  to  the  bath, 
and  come  home  painted,  and  their  hands  and  feet  as  well 
as  their  hair  dyed.  I  think  they  felt  a  secret  contempt 
for  me  in  consequence  of  my  doing  a  good  deal  of  needle- 
work, which  they  thought  an  undignified  proceeding  on 
my  part.  One  of  them  accompanied  me  as  far  as  Con- 
stantinople on  my  way  home,  and  would,  I  think,  if  I  had 
wished,  have  come  on  to  England. 

The  Shah  did  not  arrive  in  Ispahan  until  two  weeks 
after  we  reached  it.  He  delayed  here  and  there  on  the 
road  to  beguile  some  of  that  time  which  Persians  find  to 
hang  so  heavily  on  their  hands.  Time  is  of  no  value  in 
Persia,  from  which  reason  it  must  be  that  so  complicated 
a  system  has  been  maintained  as  that  of  counting  by 
solar  time,  lunar  time,  and  the  Toork  cycle.  The  first 
is  observed  by  astronomers,  and  was  in  general  use  in 
Persia  until  it  was  superseded  by  Mahommed's  lunar 
year.  It  consists  of  twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each, 
with  the  required  number  of  intercalary  days.  The 
second,  which  is  now  in  general  use,  consisting  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty-four  days,  is  therefore  perpetually 


CHAP.  XVI.  RECKONING  OF  TIME.  241 

changing :  an  event  commemorated  in  one  year  will  come 
round  ten  days  earlier  the  succeeding  year.  The  third  is  a 
curious  method  of  counting  introduced  by  the  Toorks  into 
Persia,  but  which  I  am  told  has  been  forgotten  in  Turkey. 
They  divide  time  into  cycles  of  twelve  years,  each  year 
having  a  separate  name,  but  they  have  no  designation  for 
the  cycles.  Thus,  if  they  wanted  to  describe  an  event 
which  happened  sixty-five  years  ago,  they  could  only 
mention  the  name  of  the  fifth  year.  These  years  are  solar, 
and  are  thus  designated  : — 

Sichkan  eel         ..          ..   Year  of  the  Mouse. 
Ood  eel    ,  Bull. 


Bars  eel  .. 
Tavishkan  eel 
Looee  eel  .. 
Eelan  eel.. 
Yoont  eel . . 
Kooee  eel . . 
Beechee  eel 
Tekhakoo  eel 
Eeteel     .. 
Tenkooz  eel 


Leopard. 

Hare. 

Crocodile. 

Snake. 

Horse. 

Ram. 

Monkey. 

Cock. 

Dog. 

Hos. 


It  seems  strange  their  number  should  be  twelve,  as  if 
there  were  a  zodiac  of  years  instead  of  months. 

This  method  of  marking  time  is  preserved  only  in  go- 
vernment documents,  such  as  firmans,  grants,  &c.  No 
one  seems  able  to  account  for  its  origin,  excepting  that, 
according  to  tradition,  the  Toorks  of  old  brought  it  from 
Tartary. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  Shah, — he  arrived  full  soon 
enough  to  swallow  a  very  bitter  pill.  The  day  of  retri- 
bution for  the  Toorkoman  attack  on  Ashoorada  had 
arrived. 

M 


242  RUSSIAN  INTIMIDATION.  CHAP.  XVI. 

Some  of  the  attaches  of  the  English  Mission,  in  riding 
through  the  streets,  met  the  whole  of  the  Russian  Mis- 
sion, excepting  the  Minister,  proceeding  to  the  Prime 
Minister's  house,  in  the  unusual  display  of  full  uniform. 
Their  countenances  hetrayed  the  solemn  importance  of 
their  intent.  The  Russians  love  effect  and  theatrical  re- 
presentation at  least  as  much  as  the  French.  These 
gentlemen  had  gone  in  a  body  to  claim  satisfaction  for  the 
success  of  the  Toorkomans,  and  for  the  imbecility  of  the 
Russian  commander  :  that  satisfaction  was  the  dismissal  of 
the  Prince  Governor  of  Mazenderan,  as  the  instigator  of  the 
outrage.  The  Shah's  brother  was  to  be  the  scapegoat  of 
the  Russian  commander ;  the  penalty  of  refusal  was  the 
immediate  departure  of  the  Russian  Mission  from  Persia. 

All  the  court,  all  Ispahan,  exclaimed  against  the  iniquity 
of  this  demand.  The  prince,  they  said,  was  governor  of 
Mazenderan,  not  of  Asterabad,  besides  which,  he  had 
every  motive  to  conciliate,  not  to  irritate,  the  Russians ;  the 
harsh  conduct  of  the  Russians  was  in  itself,  it  was  added,  a 
sufficient  provocation  to  the  Toorkomans  ;  at  all  events  let 
there  be  an  investigation,  and  let  punishment  follow  proof, 
not  assumption.  All  was  useless.  The  man  was  very 
sick  indeed,  and  must  submit  to  the  prescription  of  his 
physician.  In  fine,  when  a  weak,  remote,  unfriended 
nation,  like  Persia,  has'  the  misfortune  to  be  neighbour 
to  a  powerful  one  like  Russia,  where  one  man's  will  is 
supreme  and  irresponsible,  it  must  often  be  content  to 
bow  down  in  humiliation  before  pride,  policy,  and  caprice. 
It  must  bend  to  avoid  being  broken.  The  prince  was  re- 
called, and  the  universal  conviction  of  the  injustice  of  the 
blow  made  it  more  deeply  felt. 


CHAP.  XVI.  NEGRO  SLAVES.  243 

No  evil  is  without  alloy,  and  so  it  may  be  said  of  the  re- 
call of  the  Prince  Governor  of  Mazenderan.  For  a  long  time 
various  attempts  had  been  made  to  induce  the  Shah's  go- 
vernment to  put  a  stop  to  the  importation  of  negro  slaves 
from  Africa  by  the  Persian  Gulf.  They  are  conveyed  in 
Persian  and  Arab  vessels  to  the  Persian  ports.  The  au- 
thority of  the  government  over  its  subjects  on  the  coast  of 
that  sea  is  very  imperfect,  and  in  fact  merely  nominal. 
Consequently  the  only  efficacious  mode  of  stopping  the 
traffic,  is  by  allowing  the  right  of  search,  and  the  removal 
of  the  slaves  to  English  ships  of  war.  But  this  concession 
had  been  strenuously  resisted.  A  week  after  the  forced 
recall  of  the  governor  of  Mazenderan,  this  boon  was 
granted  for  a  certain  number  of  years.  Thanks  be  to  the 
Russian  government,  to  whom  the  negroes  of  Zanjibar 
ought  to  be  grateful. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  negro  slaves  in  Persia,  who 
are  named  Bambassees,  Nubees,  and  Habeshees.  The 
former  come  from  Zanjibar,  and  the  neighbouring  country 
in  the  interior,  but  I  do  not  know  the  derivation  of  the 
name.  The  others,  as  their  names  imply,  are  natives  of 
Nubia  and  Abyssinia.  The  Bambassees,  who  are  genuine 
negroes,  are  in  great  disrepute  as  being  ferocious,  treach- 
erous, and  lazy.  The  Nubees  and  Habeshees,  excepting 
in  being  black,  do  not  present  the^sual  negro  character- 
istics. They  are  highly  esteemed  as  being  mild,  faithful, 
brave  and  intelligent,  and  are  generally  confidential  ser- 
vants in  Persian  households.  Ill-treatment  must  of  course 
sometimes  take  place  when  there  is  unlimited  power  on 
one  hand,  and  entire  submission  on  the  other.  The  fact 
is  proved  by  the  occasional  instances  in  which  slaves  have 

M  2 


244  TREATMENT  OF  SLAVES.  CHAP.  XVI. 

taken  refuge  in  the  Mission  to  escape  from  punishment  by 
their  masters.  Still  it  is  believed  that  in  general,  cruelty, 
or  even  harshness,  is  rarely  practised  towards  slaves  in 
Persia.  Their  customary  treatment  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  other  servants  of  a  family,  or  even  something  better, 
particularly  when  they  happen  to  be  Nubees  or  Habeshees. 
They  are  never  employed  as  field  labourers,  their  occupa- 
tions being  confined  to  the  duties  of  the  household.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  in  the  anderoons  more  suffering  is  inflicted  on 
the  women  slaves  than  is  endured  by  the  men.  Caprice 
and  idleness  are  unsafe  guardians  for  human  beings  of  an 
inferior  race,  when  there  is  no  "  Times  "  to  denounce  and 
correct  the  wantonness  of  power.  On  the  whole,  however, 
the  lot  of  slaves  in  Persia  is  perhaps  as  favourable  as 
that  institution  will  admit  of.  They  are  not  treated  with 
contempt  as  in  America ;  there  are  no  special  laws  to  hold 
them  in  a  state  of  degradation  ;  they  are  frequently  re- 
stored to  freedom,  and  when  this  happens,  they  take  their 
station  in  society  without  any  reference  to  their  colour  or 
descent.  White  slaves  frequently  rise  to  the  highest  em- 
ployments, but  these  are  commonly  captives  taken  in  war. 
It  is  said  not  to  be  easy  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  number 
of  slaves  imported  annually  into  Persia  from  the  Red  Sea 
and  Zanjibar.  They  certainly  are  not  numerous,  judg- 
ing by  the  few  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  the  large  towns 
in  the  north  of  Persia.  In  those  of  the  south  they  are 
doubtless  in  greater  numbers,  and  particularly  in  the  low, 
level  tract  bordering  the  coast,  of  which  Bushire  and 
Benderabbas  are  near  the  extremities.  The  difficulty  of 
forming  a  correct  calculation  on  the  subject,  arises  from 
the  practice  of  each  petty  chief  in  the  Persian  Gulf  being 


CHAP.  XVI.  RETURN  TO  TEHRAN.  245 

an  importer  in  his  own  vessels,  and  from  the  slaves  being 
landed  at  a  variety  of  small  harbours  extending  over  a 
great  length  of  coast.  The  number  is  supposed  not  to 
exceed  two  or  three  thousand  annually,  of  whom  a  great 
many  die  after  leaving  the  hot  region  of  the  Persian  coast. 

Another  source  for  obtaining  slaves  for  the  Persian 
market,  is  by  means  of  the  pilgrims  to  Kerbella.  These 
slaves  are  conveyed  directly  across  the  desert  from  Mecca 
or  Medina  to  Bagdad,  to  which  latter  city  the  pilgrims 
always  resort.  The  Persian  Hajees  also  on  their  return 
from  Mecca  often  make  purchases  of  one  or  two  negroes. 
A  few  also  are  brought  by  the  route  of  Damascus,  but 
taken  collectively  the  importation  of  slaves  to  Persia  by 
these  routes  is  insignificant,  and  its  cessation  or  continuance 
is  entirely  dependent  on  the  will  of  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment. 

On  the  1st  of  September  we  commenced  our  return  to 
Tehran,  whither  the  Shah  had  already  been  gone  a  week 
previously.  The  Russian  Mission  had  anticipated  the 
Shah's  movement  in  apprehension  of  the  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing food  in  the  event  of  following  the  royal  camp. 
From  Ispahan  the  regular  road  is  by  Cashan  and  Room, 
but  we,  from  the  same  reasons  as  influenced  the  Russian?, 
retraced  our  steps  to  Khonsar,  and  from  thence  we  went 
to  Mellayer  and  regained  our  former  road  to  Sava. 

Not  a  single  incident  occurred  to  vary  the  monotony  of 
the  road,  excepting  a  trait  of  Persian  manners.  Our 
camp  was  joined  by  a  Persian  gentleman,  who  had  formerly 
held  a  very  high  post  in  the  Shah's  service,  but  who  was 
now  in  disgrace.  Late  one  night  we  heard  at  a  consider- 
able distance  a  noise  resembling  deep  moaning,  accora- 


246  THE  BASTINADO.  CHAP.  XVI. 

panied  by  a  heavy,  sustained  sound,  at  short  intervals. 
These  unpleasant  symptoms  of  distress  having  continued 
some  time,  we  found  on  inquiry  that  the  Khan,  our 
travelling  companion,  a  stanch  disciple  of  Bacchus,  had 
quarrelled  with  his  cook,  whose  feet  he  had  put  into 
the  fellek,  and  was  now  giving  him  a  sound  bastinado. 
It  is  hard  to  say  how  long  the  punishment  would  have 
continued,  whether  one  or  two  hours,  had  not  we  caused 
it  immediately  to  cease.  The  fellek  is  a  long,  stout 
piece  of  wood,  each  end  of  which  is  held  by  a  ferash; 
the  culprit's  ancles  are  attached  to  two  loops  in  the  middle, 
and  he  is  thrown  on  his  back,  by  which  means  the  soles  of 
his  feet  are  turned  towards  the  sky.  Two  ferashes  then  flog 
him  on  the  feet  with  long  thin  wands,  which  are  renewed 
from  time  to  time.  The  punishment  inflicted  in  this  way 
is  sometimes  most  dreadful,  lasting  for  hours  it  is  said, 
but  no  one  dies  in  consequence,  though  the  patient  often 
faints  under  the  infliction.  Some  years  ago  no  rank  was 
exempt  from1  this  chastisement.  The  Shah  constantly 
caused  it  to  be  inflicted  in  his  own  presence  on  delinquent 
governors.  In  the  last  Russian  war  the  Asof  ood  Dowleh, 
a  nobleman  of  the  highest  rank  and  a  cousin  of  the  Shah, 
suffered  this  punishment  in  the  public  square  of  Tehran, 
for  having  sustained  a  defeat  from  the  Muscovites.  As  a 
homage  to  his  rank,  a  carpet  was  spread  on  which  he  was 
placed,  and  the  first  blow  was  struck  by  the  Shah's  son, 
Abbas  Meerza,  the  heir  to  the  throne. 

When  the  Khan  was  called  to  account  for  the  breach 
of  etiquette  he  had  been  guilty  of  in  inflicting  punishment 
in  the  Vezeer  Mookhtar's  camp,  he  amusingly  alleged  that 
it  was  done  solely  out  of  respect  to  Colonel  S ,  his 


CHAP.  XVI.  LOVE  OF  IXTRIGUE.  247 

cook  having  had  the  effrontery  to  say  that  our  cook  had 
taken  the  whole  of  the  fowls  in  the  village.  These  Per- 
sians are  very  strange  people ;  they  are  ever  on  the  watch 
to  discover  each  other's  intrigues,  falsehoods,  and  finesses. 
A  movement  of  the  finger,  a  turn  of  the  eye,  is  not  left 
unnoticed,  and  receives  an  interpretation.  Yet  each  man 
invariably  thinks  that  his  own  plots  and  intrigues  are  the 
acme  of  human  ingenuity,  wholly  unfathomable  by  the 
rest  of  mankind.  How  often  have  I  heard  the  Persian 
secretaries  of  the  Mission  preparing  little  paltry  schemes, 
which  the  dullest  understanding  could  unravel,  for  arrang- 
ing insignificant  matters,  in  which  all  that  was  necessary 
was  to  tell  the  truth,  and  all  the  time  thinking  they 
were  performing  the  cleverest  and  most  impenetrable  feats 
of  diplomacy.  The  credulity  of  Persians,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  also  sometimes  unaccountable.  Knowing  the 
chicanery  and  falsehood  of  their  countrymen,  they  again 
and  again  go  on  believing  and  trusting  each  other  to  an 
incredible  extent.  When  an  aggrieved  person  is  asked 
what  induced  him  to  put  faith  in  the  offender,  his  general 
answer  is,  "  he  swore  a  vast  number  of  oaths ;  I  said  to 
myself,  perhaps  he  is  telling  the  truth."  They  have  odd 
names  for  describing  the  moral  qualities.  Sedakat  means 
sincerity,  honesty,  candour ;  but  when  a  man  is  said  to  be 
possessed  of  sedakat,  the  meaning  is  that  he  is  a  credu- 
lous, contemptible  simpleton.  Much  in  the  same  manner 
a  man  of  dashing  courage  is  called  deewaneh,  which 
means  mad. 


248  A  NIGHT  ALAEM.  CHAP.  XVII. 


CHAPTEE  XVII. 

A  night  alarm  —  The  new  Vezeer  —  The  old  Vezeer  —  His  wife  — 
Manner  of  his  execution  —  Return  and  marriage  of  his  widow  — 
Armenian  wedding  —  The  Elchees  from  Arabia,  Khiva,  and  Afghan- 
istan —  Refugee  Afghan  Khans  —  Excursion  to  Demawend  —  The 
"Sublime  Well"  —  Defile  and  Eelyats  —  Town  of  Ask  —  Hot 
springs  —  Mountain  chiefs  —  111  -  advised  change  of  residence  — 
Lareejanee  women  —  Lareejanee  lady  governor  —  Persian  breakfast 
—  Jonas  Han  way's  account  of  Mazenderan  —  Return  to  the  "  Sublime 
Well." 

November,  1851. — WE  were  alarmed  late  one  night, 
not  long  ago,  by  my  husband  being  aroused  to  receive 
a  letter  which  one  of  his  Persian  friends  had  written  to 
him.  As  I  was  never  perfectly  exempt  from  disquiet  in 
Persia,  my  first  impression  was  that  either  the  Shah  had 
been  murdered,  or  that  the  Russian  Mission  was  about  to 
be  attacked,  perhaps  our  own.  The  letter  was  not  free 
from  alarming  contents.  It  contained  an  announcement 
that  the  Shah  had  ordered  the  attendance  of  400  of  his 
Gholams,  or  personal  guards,  and  that  all  the  courtiers 
had  been  summoned  to  the  palace  at  that  unusual  hour. 
What  could  have  happened  ?  What  was  impending  ? 
Had  a  conspiracy  been  discovered  just  on  the  point  of 
explosion?  In  an  hour  another  letter  arrived  :  all  this 
preparation  was  directed  against  one  man.  The  Shah 
had  seized  Meerza  Tekkee  Khan,  his  Prime  Minister 
and  brother-in-law.  His  Majesty  was  a  very  young  man, 
only  one-and -twenty,  and  such  was  the  ascendency  acquired 
by  intellectual  vigour,  that  he  did  not  venture  on  the  dis- 


CHAP.  XVII.  THE  NEW  VEZEER.  249 

placement  of  his  minister  without  anxiety  and  precaution. 
And  yet  this  minister,  I  hear,  governed  well.  He  had 
faced  and  resisted,  sometimes  perhaps  injudiciously,  the 
two  lions,  between  which,  as  a  former  Persian  Vezeer  had 
said,  that  meek  lamb,  Persia,  was  placed ;  he  had  im- 
proved and  increased  the  army,  the  finances  were  thriving, 
and  economy  was  the  order  of  the  day,  to  the  great 
increase  of  his  own  personal  enemies.  But  he  made  the 
usual  mistake  of  degrading  the  Shah  into  a  cipher.  He 
even  spoke  of  him  with  contempt,  often  styling  him  Een 
Pisereh,  this  young  fellow.  This  could  not  last  beyond 
a  certain  time,  though  the  catastrophe  happened  sooner 
than  was  anticipated. 

The  intrigues  to  gain  the  vacant  prize  immediately 
began.  Who  was  to  wiu  ? — was  it  to  be  a  member  of  the 
English  or  the  Russian  party  or  faction?  The  Shah, 
notwithstanding  his  inexperience,  made  a  most  wise  selec- 
tion. He  fixed  on  a  man  of  great  talent,  fully  conversant 
with  the  affairs  of  government,  and,  it  may  be  added,  with 
the  intrigues  of  Persian  court  life.  But  there  was  one 
difficulty.  His  Majesty  had  formerly  spontaneously  placed 
Meerza  Agha  Khan,  whose  title  was,  the  Ittimad  ood 
Dowleh,  the  Trusted  of  the  State,  under  English  protec- 
tion ;  and  he  felt  that  if  the  future  Vezeer  were  to  preserve 
this  safeguard,  the  minister  would  ere  long  become  the  real 
monarch.  His  Majesty  adopted  a  Persian  and  summary 
method  of  settling  the  affair.  He  shut  up  the  Khan  in 
the  royal  palace  for  three  days,  and  told  him  to  take  his 
choice  between  being  Grand  Vezeer  to  the  Shahinshah, 
the  King  of  Kings,  or  a  hanger-on  of  the  English 
Minister.  The  Khan  was,  or  pretended  to  be,  in  a 

M  3 


250  THE  FALLEN  YEZEER.  CHAP.  XVII. 

dilemma.  He  sent  a  message  to  the  Mission  asking  for 
advice.  The  answer  was,  that  English  protection  was 
preferable  to  the  Crown  of  the  Kyanees  itself,  but  that  as 
the  Khan  was  clearly  determined  to  be  Vezeer,  he  had 
better  decide  at  once.  The  Shah's  choice  has  been  well 
justified.  The  Sedr  Azem  has  ceased  to  be  English 
•without  becoming  Russian,  and  is  perhaps  as  fully  a 
Persian  as  a  Persian  can  be.  He  governs  with  prudence 
and  popularity,  never  forgetting  that  the  Shah  is  supreme. 
The  present  war  has  been  a  trial  of  his  inclinations  and 
his  wisdom.  Notwithstanding  a  variety  of  inducements, 
religious  and  political,  to  avenge  on  Turkey  many 
wrongs  and  insults,  he  appears  to  have  maintained  the 
difficult  part  of  neutrality  with  impartiality  and  success. 

The  fallen  Vezeer,  Meerza  Tekkee  Khan,  the  poor 
Ameer,  met  his  downfall  with  resignation  and  composure, 
though  with  sadness,  for  he  knew  the  fate  of  a  Persian 
minister  whose  overthrow  is  followed  by  imprisonment. 
He  made  a  false  move,  and  forfeited  his  life.  The  Persian 
government  had  placed  him  of  their  own  free  will  under 

the  protection  of  Colonel  S ,  or  rather  of  the  British 

Government,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  his  mainte- 
nance in  honour  and  luxury  in  a  neighbouring  city,  and 
of  course  in  safety.  Misled  by  promises  from  other 
sources,  the  Ameer  cast  off  his  English  protection  at  the 
very  last  hour,  and  refused  to  depart  at  the  time  and  to 
the  place  arranged.  The  sources  relied  on  failed  him  at 
his  need,  and  abandoned  him  in  a  position  worse  than 
before. 

It  was  now  resolved  to  send  him  to  Cashan,  there  to  be 
imprisoned.  His  wife,  the  Shah's  sister,  a  young  woman 


CHAP.  XVII.  HIS  WIFE.  251 

of  eighteen,  resolved  to  accompany  her  husband,  in  spite 
of  the  dissuasions  of  her  brother  and  her  mother.  Con- 
jugal affection  does  exist  in  Persia  after  all.  A  few  days 
afterwards,  as  we  were  driving  outside  the  walls  of  the 
town,  I  unexpectedly  approached  within  a  few  yards  of  a 
party  travelling  towards  Ispahan.  It  was  the  Ameer  and 
the  princess.  They  were  both  in  a  takhterewan,  sur- 
rounded by  guards.  It  seemed  to  me  like  a  funeral  pro- 
cession, and  I  have  seldom  beheld  a  more  melancholy 
sight.  I  longed  to  open  the  care  fully- closed  takhterewan, 
to  take  the  doomed  Ameer  and  his  poor  young  wife  with 
their  two  infant  children  into  the  carriage,  and  to  drive 
off  with  them  to  the  Mission-house. 

I  may  as  well  anticipate  his  fate.  He  remained  for 
several  months  in  confinement  at  Cashan  with  the  princess. 
As  a  security  against  poison,  that  exemplary  lady  made  it 
a  rule  to  partake  first  of  all  the  food  presented  to  the 
Ameer.  In  the  mean  time  his  enemies  had  not  been  idle. 
They  feared  lest  he  should  one  day  be  restored  to  favour. 
The  Shah's  ear  was  daily  filled  with  the  danger  of  leaving 
alive  a  man  like  him,  who  only  waited  for  an  opportunity 
either  to  destroy  his  sovereign,  or  ruin  the  kingdom. 
Who  the  murderers  were  I  shall  not  disclose,  but  at  length 
the  fatal  order  was  sealed,  and  dispatched  in  charge  of 
the  Shah's  Ferash  Bashee,  a  man  whom  the  Ameer  had 
raised  from  the  dust,  and  a  party  of  Meerghazabs.  For 
some  reason,  which  no  one  but  a  Persian  can  understand, 
recourse  was  had  to  guile.  A  lady  of  the  haram  was  sent 
to  the  Princess,  telling  her  to  dry  her  tears,  for  that  the 
Shah  had  relented,  and  that  the  Ameer  was  to  return  to 
Tehran  or  go  to  Kcrbella,  the  usual  haven  for  Persians  who 


252  MUEDER  OF  THE  YEZEER.  CHAP.  XVII. 

have  lost  court  favour.  "  The  khelat  or  coat  of  honour," 
said  she,  "  is  on  the  way,  and  will  arrive  in  an  hour  or  two  ; 
go,  therefore,  to  the  bath,  and  prepare  to  receive  it."  The 
Ameer  all  this  time  had  not  once  ventured  to  quit  the 
safety  afforded  by  the  apartment  of  the  Princess,  and  of 
her  presence.  On  hearing  the  joyful  news,  however,  he 
resolved  to  take  the  advice  of  this  woman,  and  indulge  in 
the  luxury  of  a  bath.  He  left  the  Princess,  and  she  never 
saw  him  more.  When  he  reached  the  bath  the  fatal  order 
was  revealed  to  him,  and  the  crime  perpetrated.  The 
Ferash  Bashee  and  his  vile  crew  presented  themselves, 
and  the  choice  of  the  mode  of  death  was  given  to  him.  It 
is  said  he  bore  his  fate  with  patience  and  fortitude.  His 
veins  were  opened,  and  he  at  length  expired. 

Though  every  one  feared  and  some  expected  this  catas- 
trophe, all  Tehran  was  struck  with  horror  at  this  act. 
The  Shah  was  not  much  blamed,  but  the  instigators,  high 
as  was  their  station,  were  execrated  as  murderers.  The 
patriotism  evinced  in  the  earnest  desire  of  the  Ameer  to 
elevate  Persia  was  remembered,  and  his  faults  were 
pardoned.  As  for  me,  I  felt  so  indignant  that  I  only 
wished  to  quit  a  country  where  such  crimes  are  sanctioned 
by  the  Government,  and  committed  without  remorse. 
Remorse,  I  believe,  is  unknown  in  Persia.  Shocking  acts 
are  perpetrated,  and  one  never  hears  of  any  uneasiness  of 
mind  on  the  part  of  the  perpetrators.  Suicide  is  quite 
unknown,  and  insanity  is  nearly  equally  so. 
f»  The  Princess,  widow  of  the  Ameer,  was  brought  back 
to  Tehran  by  the  woman  sent  to  ensnare  her  husband.  I 
had  never  before  visited  the  former,  that  model  of  a 
Persian  matron ;  but  soon  after  her  return  to  Tehran,  I 


CHAP.  XVII.  A  WEDDING.  253 

lost  no  time  in  waiting  on  her  Royal  Highness  to  show  my 
respect  for  her  noble  and  most  unusual  conduct.  Contrary 
to  my  expectation,  and  to  my  disappointment,  her  mother 
was  present,  so  I  soon  withdrew ;  as  etiquette  prevented 
the  princess  from  opening  her  lips.  She  was  plainly 
dressed  in  a  kind  of  mourning.  She  was  pretty,  and 
looked  more  like  a  stout  girl  of  twelve  years  old  than  the 
mother  of  two  children. 

As  I  have  often  said  in  the  course  of  this  volume,  the 
Persians  are  a  strange  people.  Not  long  after  the  return 
of  the  Princess,  she  was  compelled  by  the  Shah  to  marry 
the  son  of  the  Prime  Minister.  This  afforded  an  oppor- 
tunity to  the  joke-loving  Iranees  to  say  that  the  Shah's 
sister  was  transferable  like  the  Grand  Vezeer's  signet-ring 
of  office,  and  that  whoever  took  the  one  must  take  the 
other. 

December. — We  have  had  a  wedding  in  the  Mission. 
An  English  gentleman  in  Tehran  married  an  Armenian 
lady,  and  to  prevent  any  mistake  as  to  its  validity, 
there  being  no  Protestant  clergyman  in  Tehran,  they 
determined  to  perform  the  Armenian  rite  under  the 
auspices  of  the  English  flag.  Three  priests  "  assisted  ' 
one  another  in  the  performance  of  the  ceremony,  most  of 
which  seemed  much  like  our  own.  The  bride  and  bride- 
groom knelt  down  and  were  covered  with  a  shawl.  The 
priest  placed  a  large  open  book  on  their  heads,  out  of 
which  he  chanted  prayers  for  a  considerable  time ;  they 
then  drank  wine  out  of  the  same  cup,  after  which  they 
were  released  from  their  hiding-place,  and  saluted  each 
other  as  man  and  wife.  At  the  dejeuner  which  followed 
immediately  after,  the  bride  (although  it  was  her  second 


254  DIPLOMATIC  VISITORS.  CHAP.  XVII. 

performance  in  that  character)  and  her  maids,  were  too 
bashful  to  appear  ;  so  they  sat  on  the  ground  in  my  room 
and  solaced  themselves  with  tea  and  pipes,  while  the 
husband  was  busy  in  replying  to  the  numerous  toasts 
proposed  in  honour  of  the  lady  by  the  Englishmen  of  the 
party.  The  Armenians  must  have  been  much  surprised 
at  this  custom,  but  I  dare  say  would  have  gone  on  drink- 
ing the  bride's  health  till  next  morning,  provided  the 
supply  of  champagne  held  out.  After  the  breakfast  the 
bride  and  bridegroom  walked  down  the  avenue  of  our 
house  arm  in  arm,  according  to  Armenian  etiquette,  to 
the  astonishment  of  the  Persians  who  beheld  them.  It  is 
considered  an  outrageous  breach  of  decorum  for  a  lady  to 
lean  on  her  husband's  arm,  so  I  always  carefully  avoided 
doing  so.  At  the  gate  they  mounted  their  horses,  and 
went  home,  the  gentleman  preceding,  as  the  nobler  half, 
and  the  lady  followed  by  a  train  of  mules  carrying  the 
whole  of  her  household  goods. 

February,  1852. — If  an  Englishwoman  were  able  to 
partake  more  freely  in  the  society  that  Tehran  affords,  she 
would  find  living  in  that  city  less  monotonous.  Elchees,  or 
envoys,  from  time  to  time  arrive  from  distant  countries, 
who  usually  visit  the  Mission,  but  I  am  excluded  from 
seeing  them,  although  I  should  have  liked  very  much  to 
listen  to  these  semibarbarous  ambassadors.  Among  the 
late  arrivals  was  an  Arab  Elchee,  who  styled  himself  the 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of 
some  Arab  potentate.  He  and  his  followers  were  a  wild 
and  rough  looking  party,  yet  quite  different  from  Koords, 
Loors,  or  Toorkomans.  He  had  sufficient  diplomatic 
knowledge  to  be  very  careful  of  his  own  interests.  Three 


CHAP.  XVII.  DIPLOMATIC  VISITORS.  255 

minutes  had  not  elapsed  after  entering  the  room  before 
he  asked  my  husband  to  make  him  a  present  of  a  watch, 
and  when  informed  that  his  watches  were  limited  to  the 
one  he  wore,  the  Elchee  avowed  his  disbelief  of  the  asser- 
tion with  perfect  candour. 

Another  personage  of  the  same  kind  was  the  Elchee 
from  Khiva — slave-buying  Khiva.  There  was  a  window 
where  unseen  I  could  observe  these  novel  visitors  as  they 
approached  the  house.  The  ambassador  was  a  fat  and 
florid,  round-faced  man,  who,  were  it  not  for  his  uninis- 
takeable  little  peering  eyes,  would  have  strongly  resembled 
a  native  of  Germany.  But  this  Uzbek,  like  all  other 
genuine  Toorks  of  pure  blood,  could  not  conceal  his  race. 
He  sauntered  up  the  avenue  precisely  with  the  gait  of  a 
duck,  with  great  dignity  and  grace.  All  Orientals  seem 
to  consider  this  waddling  movement  highly  imposing.  At 
all  events  it  gave  me  time  to  scrutinize  and  to  covet  the 
beautifully  embroidered  silk  robes  which  formed  the 
ambassador's  garments. 

The  Elchee  presented  to  Colonel  S a  magnificent 

letter  from  the  Khan  his  master,  in  which  he  styled 
himself  the  Sultan  of  Kharezm  and  Shadow  of  God.  It 
was  fully  a  yard  in  length  and  not  much  less  in  breadth. 
This  epistle  was  a  curious  specimen  of  gilding  and  paint, 
and  was  enclosed  in  a  sumptuous  bag  of  gold  brocade. 
The  extraordinary  country  in  which  he  lives  made  him 
an  object  of  interest,  and  I  am  besides  grateful  to  his 
Excellency  for  the  present  of  an  immense  tiger  skin,  the 
original  owner  of  which  had  been  shot  in  the  desert  near 
Khiva.  This  was  novel  intelligence  to  me,  who  had 
imagined  that  a  tiger  required  a  climate  approaching  to 


256  SLAVE-TRADE  IN  KHIVA.  CHAP.  XVII. 

that  of  the  torrid  zone  to  enable  him  to  exist.  In  Khiva, 
on  the  contrary,  the  cold  is  so  intense  as  to  freeze  com- 
pletely over  the  great  river  Oxus.  Living  in  their  distant 
oasis,  surrounded  by  nearly  impenetrable  deserts,  the 
Khivans  carry  on  their  iniquitous  barter  of  Persians  with 
the  Toorkomans  in  security.  Nevertheless  Nadir  Shah 
one  hundred  years  ago  contrived  to  reach  and  to  subdue 
Khiva  in  spite  of  her  deserts.  They  formerly  maintained 
a  similar  trade  in  Russians  kidnapped  by  the  Kirgheez, 
and  Kara  Kalpak,  and  Kazzak  wanderers  in  the  deserts 
on  the  north  and  north-east  of  Khiva.  But  the  fear  of 
another  expedition  like  General  Perowski's,  which  took 
place  fourteen  years  ago,  has  relieved  Russian  subjects 
from  this  direful  fate.  Thousands  of  Persians,  either 
actual  captives  or  their  descendants,  are  supposed  to 
languish  in  hopeless  slavery.  It  is  only  another  in- 
vasion like  Nadir  Shah's  which  offers  them  any  pro- 
spect of  release,  and  of  this  there  is  no  chance  :  Nadir 
had  the  spoil  of  Delhi  at  his  disposal,  and  the  present 
Shah  has  too  many  engagements  nearer  home  to  engross 
his  attention.  Their  only  prospect  of  relief  is  from  Russia, 
and  I  am  told  that,  judging  from  the  positions  she  has 
taken  up  on  the  Jaxartes,  near  its  mouth,  from  whence 
she  will  one  day  be  able  to  threaten  Khiva,  Bokhara,  and 
Kakan,  she  seems  disposed  to  realize  it.  (F.) 

Among  other  diplomatic  visitors  were  the  Elchees 
from  Herat  and  Candahar  on  the  part  of  their  re- 
spective rulers,  Yar  Mahommed  Khan  and  Kohendil 
Khan,  and  subsequently  from  the  son  of  the  former  chief, 
Saeed  Mahommed  Khan.  These  however  I  never  saw. 


CHAP.  XVII.  AFGHAN  ELCHEES.  257 

They  did  not  visit  at  the  Mission,  as  it  did  not  suit  the 
policy  of  their  masters  in  their  then  subject  condition  to 
Persia  to  avow  any  cordiality  towards  the  English.  I 
hear  Persia  plays  her  part  with  some  cleverness  in  this 
quarter  of  the  world  :  she  seems  never  to  allow  these  two 
states  to  remain  in  quiet,  in  which  design  she  is  mainly 
aided  by  the  native  restlessness  of  the  Afghans.  Since 
the  death  of  that  clever  and  enterprising  but  wicked 
chief,  Yar  Mahommed  Khan,  who  maintained  himself  in 
independence  in  Herat,  the  Persian  government  has  sus- 
tained his  imbecile  son  Saeed  Mahommed  Khan,  whose 
days  were  consumed  in  intoxication.  Thus  Herat  fell 
virtually  under  the  control  if  not  into  the  hands  of  the 
Shah.  Murder  upon  murder  of  the  Afghan  chiefs  ensued, 
in  which  Persia  was  more  to  blame  than  the  mock  ruler 
of  Herat. 

These  Afghan  Elchees  are  always  accompanied  by  a 
numerous  retinue.  It  is  a  pretty  sight  to  see  a  body  of 
Afghan  horse  in  movement — they  crowd  closely  together 
in  a  promiscuous  compact  body,  moving  rapidly  forward 
at  a  slouching  gait,  which  their  horses  seem  able  to 
preserve  for  a  considerable  time  without  apparent  effort. 
Instead  of  the  tall  black  cap  of  the  Persians,  the 
Afghans  wear  turbans ;  they  have  a  wild  and  peculiar 
look,  which  makes  them  easily  distinguishable  from  the 
other  natives  of  these  countries.  Their  manners  are 
said  to  be  far  less  polished  than  those  of  their  Persian 
neighbours ;  the  state  of  civilisation,  too,  in  Afghanistan 
being  on  a  far  lower  scale  than  that  of  Persia.  The 
Afghans  boast  of  their  freedom,  and  ridicule  the  subjection 


258  REFUGEE  AFGHAN  KEAXS.  CHAP.  XVII. 

of  the  Persians  to  their  monarchs  ;  to  our  ideas,  however, 
their  freedom  is  of  a  nature  scarcely  desirable,  consisting 
principally  of  a  power  to  do  evil,  rather  than  of  institutions 
for  the  benefit  of  society  :  directly  the  reverse  of  our 
definition  of  liberty—"  to  use  your  own  so  as  not  to  hurt 
another."  Assassination,  the  Persians  say,  is  the  daily 
pastime  of  the  chiefs  and  nobles  of  Afghanistan,  and 
according  to  their  light  way  of  talking,  an  Afghan  is  only 
a  bad  Persian,  more  false  and  more  venal,  a  man  who 
pauses  at  no  crime  or  baseness  in  pursuit  of  his  own 
schemes  of  selfishness  or  aggrandizement. 

Several  Afghan  Khans  took  sanctuary  about  this  time 
in  the  British  Mission.  A  number  of  Herat  chiefs 
opposed  to  their  imbecile  ruler  had  been  sent  by  Saeed 
Mahommed  Khan  to  Persia  to  remain  in  the  custody  of 
the  Persian  Government,  which  undertook  the  honourable 
office  of  Meerghazab,  and  caused  many  among  them  to 
be  put  to  death,  or,  to  speak  more  truly,  to  be  murdered. 
Some  were  brought  to  Tehran,  where  they  found  means  to 
get  within  the  Mission  premises.  I  of  course  saw  nothing 
of  these  refugees,  but  I  heard  they  were  not  in  the  least 
prepossessing.  Our  sympathy  for  the  fate  of  people  in 
their  condition  is  moderated  by  the  conviction  that  a 
reversal  of  position  alone  is  wanting  to  make  them  act 
with  similar  cold-blooded  ferocity.  As  the  permanent 
residence  of  these  chiefs  in  the  Mission  was  out  of  the 
question,  Colonel  S.  according  to  his  usual  practice  made 
an  arrangement  with  the  Prime  Minister  which  enabled 
them  to  leave  their  sanctuary  with  impunity.  (G.) 

July. — Summer  in  Persia,  as  I  have  already  de- 
scribed, is  most  wearisome,  but  this  year  was  a  more 


CHAP.  XVII.  DEMAWEXD.  259 

than  ordinary  trial  during  our  period  of  banishment 
In  Persian  metaphor  Izraeel,  the  Angel  of  Death,  had 
brandished  his  sword  though  he  did  not  strike.  The 
result  was  our  being  obliged  to  undertake  a  journey  to 
the  mountainous  part  of  Mazenderan,  to  try  the  effect 
of  the  mineral  waters  at  Ask.  The  distance  was  trifling, 
not  above  eighty  miles,  but,  from  the  nature  of  the 
country  it  was  necessary  to  pass  through,  the  journey  was 
formidable  to  an  invalid.  Though  the  road  was  in  a 
great  measure  over  mountains,  we  were  fortunately  able 
to  proceed  fifty  miles  in  a  carriage,  to  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  town  of  Demawend.  This  charming  and  secluded 
valley  is  an  amphitheatre  three  or  four  miles  across,  filled 
with  cultivation  and  fruit-trees.  I  could  not  help  re- 
gretting that  the  Shah  had  not  fixed  on  this  beautiful 
spot  for  his  ye'ilak,  or  summer  residence.  But  his 
Majesty  seems  impervious  to  heat,  the  hottest  sun  not 
preventing  him  from  going  out  hunting.  Not  a  trace  of 
ruins  is  to  be  found  in  Demawend,  although  among 
Persian  traditions  its  antiquity  reaches  the  fabulous  days 
of  their  history — those  of  Ka'iomers  and  Jemsheed. 
Although  the  great  mountain  derives  its  name  from  this 
valley,  it  is  not  visible  from  Demawend,  owing  to  the 
vicinity  of  lower  hills.  Near  the  valley  we  found  a 
charming  spot  for  our  tents,  large  trees,  a  delightful 
bit  of  grassy  ground,  and  a  glorious  fountain  which 
gushed  out  of  a  rock  in  a  foaming  volume  of  water.  It 
was  called  Cheshmeh  Aala,  the  Sublime  Spring.  The 
remainder  of  the  road  being  over  precipitous  mountains 
and  rocky  defiles,  we  resolved  to  leave  our  young  children 
here  under  charge  of  two  English  womenservants  and 


260  EELYAT  ENCAMPMENTS.  CHAP.  XVII. 

some  Persian  attendants.  Here  they  lived  in  perfect 
tranquillity  until  our  return,  which  was  not  before  four 
weeks.  I  record  this  in  favour  of  our  servants  and  of  the 
villagers.  Persian  servants  in  a  house  are  absolutely 
worthless,  they  do  nothing;  but  on  a  journey  they  are 
admirable,  full  of  activity  and  attention,  and  they  seem 
never  to  suffer  from  fatigue.  The  nomade  life  is  un- 
doubtedly the  one  intended  by  nature  for  an  Iranee. 

Soon  after  leaving  Cheshmeh  Aala,  we  ascended  the  face 
of  an  immense  mountain-pass  by  a  zigzag  path,  up  which 
the  Uzbek  pony  I  had  procured  was  carefully  led.  Even 
with  this  precaution  the  ascent  was  most  unpleasant. 
Arrived  at  the  top  the  prospect  was  worse.  We  descended 
through  a  narrow  defile,  so  steep  and  rocky  that  we  were 
forced  to  walk  a  great  part  of  the  way.  The  road  was 
diversified  by  numerous  small  encampments  of  Sylsapoor 
eelyats  from  Verameen,  who  had  pitched  their  tents  in 
various  nooks  of  the  mountains,  close  to  the  stream  which 
wound  down  the  pass.  I  shall  never  forget  the  desolate 
aspect  of  one  of  these  encampments.  The  squalid 
appearance  of  the  tents,  the  pale  ill-fed  children,  and  the 
solemn  careworn  look  of  the  women,  were  very  painful,  and 
fully  confirmed  what  I  before  said  of  the  misery  of  many 
of  these  eelyats.  On  halting  for  the  night,  we  found  we 
were  in  Mazenderan.  It  was  a  delightfully  cool  spot, 
surrounded  by  high  mountains,  but  without  a  village  or 
inhabitants  ;  situated  on  a  high  bank  overlooking  the  river 
Heraz,  which  flows  past  the  city  of  Amol  into  the  Caspian. 
We  enjoyed  the  cool  breezes,  and  the  fresh  trout  from 
the  river,  and  pitied  our  friends  in  sultry  Shemeroon. 
Next  day  the  road  was  not  quite  so  precipitous ;  we 


CHAP.  XVII.  ASK.  261 

skirted  round  the  mountain  of  Demawend,  and  saw  the 
everlasting  snow  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  us,  while 
under  our  feet  there  was  a  brilliant  carpet  of  bright 
blossoms  and  fragrant  herbs.  On  our  right  hand  was  a 
steep  precipice,  at  the  bottom  of  which  rolled  the  Heraz, 
and  the  road  was  not  too  difficult  to  prevent  us  from 
appreciating  the  pleasant  embalmed  air  and  wild  scene. 
At  length  we  arrived  close  to  the  town  of  Ask,  which 
seemed  to  me  to  be  buried  in  a  hole  in  the  mountains, 
and  my  heart  failed  me  when  I  saw  the  formidable 
descent  we  must  make  before  reaching  it.  The  path 
seemed  nearly  perpendicular,  so  I  descended  from  my 
poor  old  pony,  and  walked  or  rather  slid  down  the  whole 
descent.  The  Mazenderanees  who  came  out  to  meet  us 
laughed  at  my  alarm,  and  said  it  was  an  excellent  road 
compared  with  the  mountain  paths  between  Ask  and  the 
flat  land  near  Amol.  At  the  entrance  of  the  town  we 
found  a  large  and  good  house  belonging  to  the  chief, 
Abbas  Koolee  Khan,  Lareejanee,  an  intimate  friend  of 
my  husband,  prepared  for  our  reception. 

Ask  is  the  capital  of  the  mountain-chiefship  called 
Lareejan,  and  contains  about  2500  inhabitants.  It  is 
an  extraordinary  place,  situated  on  the  side  of  a  great 
mountain,  and,  excepting  where  the  river  Heraz  has  formed 
an  opening,  surrounded  by  other  immense  mountains, 
pre-eminent  among  which  was  hoary  Demawend,  whose 
top,  however,  we  lost  sight  of,  as  we  were  so  completely 
under  it.*  Unless  Meerza  Antonio,  as  Sir  Anthony 


*  Very  few  Englishmen  or  other  Europeans  have  had  the  enterprise 
to  ascend  Demawend,  whose  height  is,  I  believe,  13,000  feet.  Mr. 
Thompson,  of  Her  Majesty's  Mission,  succeeded  in  the  attempt.  He 


262  MUTINOUS  CHIEFS.  CHAP.  XVII. 

Shirley  was  called,  was  married  to  a  woman  of  his  own 
country,  which  could  hardly  be,  seeing  Shah  Abbas  the 
Great  had  given  him  as  a  wife  one  of  his  own  relations, 
I  think  I  must  be  the  first  Englishwoman  who  has  been 
in  Mazenderan.  I  am  told  that  it  was  in  the  neigh- 
bouring district  of  Hezar  Jereeb,  Sir  Anthony  Shirley 
laid  the  first  rudiments  of  a  regular  force  in  Persia.  The 
descendants  of  his  corps  of  Toofengchees,  or  matchlock- 
men,  maintain  a  reputation  at  this  day,  as  being  the  best 
in  the  land. 

The  district  of  Lareejan  is  so  completely  enclosed  by 
mountains  and  narrow  gorges  as  to  be  almost  inaccessible 
to  an  invader.  On  this  account  the  chief  and  his  depend- 
ents are  somewhat  unmanageable.  At  every  succession 
to  the  throne,  or  other  time  of  commotion,  they  generally 
declare  themselves  yaghee,  or  in  revolt,  and  refuse  to  pay 
their  contributions  to  the  revenue.  The  other  mountain 
chiefs  follow  the  same  course,  and  our  host  Abbas  Koolee 
Khan  was  not  the  least  conspicuous  among  the  mutineers. 
The  British  Mission  has  more  than  once  been  of  use  in 
bringing  these  unruly  chiefs  to  a  proper  sense  of  obedience. 


set  out  from  Ask  with  two  guides,  and  spent  the  first  day  in  reaching 
a  shed  half-way  up  the  mountain.  The  second  evening,  at  sunset,  he 
arrived  at  the  summit,  and  spent  the  night  in  a  cavern  heated  by  a 
warm  sulphureous  vapour.  At  Tehran,  on  clear  days,  smoke  is  gene- 
rally visible  issuing  from  the  top.  The  mountain  is  evidently  a  volcano, 
almost  extinct.  In  the  morning,  at  sunrise,  they  sallied  forth  hoping 
to  have  a  grand  panorama  of  Mazenderan,  the  Goorgan  and  Toorkoman 
coast,  Tehran,  &c.  Nothing  was  visible  but  dense  clouds.  The  cold 
was  so  intense  that  they  immediately  rushed  down  the  mountain  at 
their  utmost  speed  :  this  was  in  August.  I  never  could  comprehend 
why  they  did  not  return  to  the  cavern  and  wait  a  few  hours  for  the 
clouds  to  pass  away. 


CHAP.  XVII.         UNCOMFORTABLE  QUARTERS.  263 

The  mineral  springs  were  not  conveniently  situated  for 
an  invalid.  They  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  on  which 
the  town  is  placed,  close  to  the  river  Heraz.  The  springs 
were  of  two  kinds — ferruginous  and  sulphureous,  separated 
from  each  other  by  the  river.  The  water  of  the  fountain 
my  husband  used  was  tepid,  and  bubbled  out  of  the  earth 
in  an  unceasing  stream,  forming  a  small  tank  round  the 
springs  in  which  invalids  immersed  themselves.  To 
remedy  the  inconvenience  of  the  absence  of  a  bathing- 
house,  Colonel  S pitched  a  tent  over  one  of  these 

basins  of  water  for  the  performance  of  his  ablutions, 
which  otherwise  would  have  attracted  the  whole  town 
to  witness. 

The  house  we  resided  in  was  rather  distant  from  the 
wells,  and  we  found  a  ride  through  the  long  ill-paved 
town  twice  a-day  disagreeable.  Having  seen  at  the  other 
side  of  the  town  near  the  well,  a  neat  new-looking  dwelling, 
we  resolved  to  take  possession  of  it.  The  Lareejanees 
advised  us  not,  saying  we  should  regret  the  change.  This 
counsel  we  attributed  to  mere  Persian  plotting  and 
intrigue,  and  in  spite  of  admonition  we  went  In  the 
night  we  found  ourselves  attacked  by  legions  of  bugs ; 
for  that  night,  rest  was  out  of  the  question.  Next  day 
we  thought  we  had  hit  upon  an  expedient  for  baffling 
these  our  mortal  foes,  and  we  pitched  a  small  tent  in 
the  open  court  of  the  house,  and  calmly  retired  to  rest. 
Judge  of  the  horror  we  felt  when,  on  awaking,  we  per- 
ceived they  were  in  ten  times  greater  numbers  than  on  the 
night  before !  The  whole  nation  of  the  invaders  had,  as  it 
were,  been  let  loose  against  us,  and  we  were  on  the  point 


264  LADIES  OF  MAZEXDEEAX.  CHAP.  XVII. 

of  being  devoured ;  the  marvel  was  where  they  had  come 
from.  After  a  rigid  scrutiny  we  discovered  that  the 
ground  on  which  the  beds  lay  was  filled  with  these  insects  ; 
they  must  have  promised  themselves  the  enjoyment  of 
an  abundant  carnival.  We  decamped  at  daybreak,  too 
happy  to  regain  our  old  abode.  I  should  exceedingly 
like  to  know  on  what  these  bloodsuckers  subsisted  before 
the  night  of  our  arrival,  and  how  they  have  gained  a  liveli- 
hood since  that  memorable  epoch. 

Abbas  Koolee  Khan,  Lareejanee,  was  absent  from  Ask 
during  our  residence  there,  but  his  wife  governed  in  his 
place.  She  bore  a  high  reputation  as  a  woman  of  great 
respectability  and  shrewdness,  and  as  a  most  excellent  ma- 
nager of  her  husband's  property.  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  her  several  times,  and  was  very  much  amused  by  the 
remarks  and  reflections  made  by  her  and  two  other  wives, 
and  the  mother,  sisters,  and  various  other  female  relatives 
of  Abbas  Koolee  Khan.  These  ladies  all  seemed  to  live 
in  Abbas  Koolee  Khan's  house.  Their  husbands  were 
absent  with  him,  and  had  appointments  in  his  regiment, 
which  was  stationed  at  Sheeraz.  I  understand  that  the 
ladies  of  Mazenderan  are  held  in  great  esteem  for  their 
good  qualities, — a  remark  which  is  said  to  be  applicable  to 
the  women  of  the  tribes  in  general.  The  principal  wife, 
who  managed  everything,  was  very  handsome ;  but  I  was 
struck  by  the  beauty  of  her  little  daughter,  Rookheeya, 
who  was,  I  think,  the  most  charming  child  I  ever  beheld. 
She  looked  exactly  like  a  little  Jewess.  The  counte- 
nances of  the  Mazenderanees  would  indicate  a  descent 
from  the  tribes  of  Israel,  to  which  I  imagine  they  have  no 


CHAP.  XVII.        ABBAS  KOOLEE  KHAN'S  WIFE.  265 

claim  or  pretension.  The  imputation  would  shock  them. 
Their  features  are  more  delicate  than  those  of  the  other 
inhabitants  of  Persia,  and  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to 
those  of  the  ancient  Persians,  as  they  are  preserved  in  the 
sculptures  at  Persepolis  and  Shahpoor. 

The  Khanum  was  evidently  leading  a  life  of  prosperity, 
yet  two  subjects  gave  her  grief.  She  had  not  seen  her 
husband  for  three  years,  and  she  heard  he  had  in  those 
three  years  taken  two  wives,  one  at  Sheeraz  and  the 
other,  lately,  in  Tehran.  Her  meditations  were  turned 
upon  paying  a  visit  to  the  Khan,  and  on  ejecting  these  two 
rivals.  But  how  was  this  to  be  effected,  as  she  could  not 
abandon  her  government  of  Lareejan  without  permission  ? 
It  was  suggested  that  the  Khanum  should  ask  me ;  that 
I  should  apply  to  my  husband  to  propose  to  the  Khan  to 
invite  his  wife  to  pay  him  a  visit  at  Tehran.  I  promised 
to  do  all  I  could,  and  accordingly,  on  my  return  to  Goo- 
lahek,  a  message  was  sent  to  Abbas  Koolee  Khan, 
representing  the  wishes  of  the  Khanum.  The  reply 
was  favourable ;  but  when  the  Khanum  found  she 
might  go  if  she  chose,  she  changed  her  mind.  She  re- 
flected that,  though  the  ejection  of  a  rival  was  something, 
yet  the  loss  of  the  keys  of  the  well- filled  store-rooms  of 
Ask  and  Amol,  and  the  transfer  of  all  the  power  she 
now  possessed  to  the  hands  of  another  wife,  were  ideas 
not  to  be  borne  ;  so  she  determined  to  remain  where  she 
was. 

These  hospitable  people  insisted  on  making  us  their 
guests  during  our  stay,  with  our  large  party  of  servants 
and  horses.  It  was  only  a  firm  resistance,  and  an  inti- 
mation that  we  should  be  forced  to  withdraw  from  Ask, 

N 


2(30  INORDINATE  HOSPITALITY.  CHAP.  XVII. 

that  enabled  us  to  free  them  from  so  costly  a  display  of 
their  friendship.  After  all,  contrary  to  compact,  the 
Khanum  frequently  sent  presents  of  sheep,  rice,  and 
dressed  dinners  to  the  servants.  She  invited  us  to  break- 
fast at  her  house,  and,  as  the  entertainment  was  the  only 
one  of  the  kind  I  saw  in  Persia,  I  may  as  well  give  a  de- 
scription of  it.  We  were  shown  into  a  large  room 
commanding  a  fine  view  of  the  town  and  valley.  No  one 
was  there  to  receive  us,  the  presence  of  our  Persian 
servants  having  excluded  the  Khanum  and  her  female 
relations,  and  my  presence  having  had  the  same  effect  on 
the  gentlemen  of  her  family.  Two  immense  wooden 
trays,  each  carried  by  two  men,  were  brought  in  and 
deposited  on  the  ground ;  there  seemed  to  be  fifteen  or 
twenty  dishes,  large  and  small,  on  each  tray.  There 
were  three  or  four  kinds  of  pillaos  of  mutton,  lamb,  and 
fowl,  and  several  stews  and  ragouts  of  most  alarming 
richness  of  the  same  viands ;  salmon,  trout,  and  another 
fish  from  the  Caspian  ;  omelettes  and  various  other  dishes 
of  eggs,  several  kinds  of  dressed  vegetables,  pickles  of  all 
kinds  in  great  profusion,  and  various  sherbets  of  orange, 
lernon,  pomegranate,  &c.  This  was  a  substantial  break- 
fast for  two  persons,  but  I  was  rather  surprised  to  see 
two  more  trays  of  precisely  the  same  description  carried 
in,  and  presently,  two  more  still.  This  continued  until 
there  were  actually  sixteen  or  twenty  trays  in  the  room. 
The  whole  floor  was  covered  with  them.  The  Mazende- 
ranees  may  have  good  appetites,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  guess 
the  meaning  of  this  inordinate  hospitality.  It  was,  how- 
ever, a  grateful  sight  to  our  servants,  for,  after  we  had 
concluded,  all  the  trays  were  transferred  to  them. 


CHAP.  XVII.  PERSIAN  APPETITES.  2G7 

Apropos  to  appetites,  I  remember  hearing  that  when 
Persian  gentlemen  dined  at  the  Mission,  after  partaking 
abundantly  of  a  European  dinner,  with  every  appearance 
of  relish,  on  returning  to  their  own  houses  at  midnight 
they  sat  down  to  a  formal  Persian  dinner.  It  seems  that 
without  an  ample  allowance  of  pillao  they  do  not  feel 
comfortable,  or  certain  whether  they  have  dined  or  not. 

I  was  very  much  amused  at  seeing  two  bottles  of  wine 
protrude  from  the  pockets  of  Mahommed  Agha,  our 
butler.  This  breakfast  being  given  at  our  dinner-hour, 
he  thought  it  objectionable  to  deprive  us  of  the  usual  ac- 
companiment at  that  meal ;  but,  being  ashamed  of  being 
detected  by  the  Mazenderanees  in  the  ignoble  duty  of 
carrying  wine,  he  had  placed  the  bottles  in  this  unsafe 
situation.  The  natives  of  Mazenderan  are  strict  Mussul- 
mans, and  have  not  yet  adopted  the  wine-drinking  habits 
not  uncommon  in  other  parts  of  Persia.  The  presence  of 
the  Russian  squadron  near  Asterabad  is  likely  to  effect  a 
change  in  this  part  of  their  religious  observances. 

The  Khanum  told  me  that  Ask  was  only  their  ye'ilak, 
or  summer  residence,  and  that  Amol,  near  the  Caspian, 
was  their  kishlak,  or  winter  abode.  She  said  that  in 
October,  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  of  Ask  would  retire 
from  the  mountains  until  late  in  the  spring  of  next  year. 
The  cold  of  Ask  she  declared  to  be  intolerable  in  winter. 
This  I  could  well  conceive,  as  the  crops  were  still  green. 
A\  c  were  obliged  in  July  to  wear  warm  clothes,  and  used 
often  to  warm  ourselves  by  walking  up  and  down  in 
front  of  the  house  in  the  sun. 

In  spite  of  the  seclusion  of  her  life,  the  Khanum  was  a 
woman  of  great  intelligence  and  observation.  The  cares 

N  2 


268  THE  KHAXUM'S  ENTHUSIASM.        CHAP.  XVII. 

of  administration  seemed  to  have  sharpened  her  under- 
standing, and  I  am  told  that  Koordish  and  other  eelyat 
women  often  display  similar  intelligence,  owing  probably 
to  their  being  treated  with  more  consideration,  and  allowed 
to  participate  more  or  less  in  the  affairs  of  the  family,  and 
even  of  the  tribe.  She  was  enthusiastic  in  praise  of  Ma- 
zenderan.  According  to  her  it  was  a  degree  better  than 
paradise.  "  Where,  in  the  world,"  said  the  Khanum,  "  is 
there  a  place  like  it, — with  the  beautiful  sea  on  one  side, 
full  of  salmon,  herrings,  and  haddocks,  besides  the  shock- 
ing porpoises  and  sturgeon  which  the  Russians  eat ;  and, 
on  the  other,  these  grand  mountains  to  cool  us  in  summer, 
and  warm  us  in  winter  with  their  fine  forests  ?  Whatever 
the  earth  produces,"  cried  the  lady,  waxing  warmer,  "  is 
to  be  found  in  Mazenderan ;  and  then  the  women, — are 
they  not  the  handsomest  in  Persia,  and  the  men  the  bravest 
in  the  world  ?  Who  ever  ventured  to  attack  them  in  the 
forest?  When  did  the  Russians  dare  to  show  themselves 
in  Mazenderan  ?  "  I  asked  the  Khanum  if  the  rain,  the 
jungles,  and  the  swamps  were  to  be  counted  among  the 
excellences  of  her  province,  but  her  enthusiasm  placed 
her  far  above  the  reach  of  any  taunt. 

She  pressed  me  to  pay  her  a  visit  at  Amol,  in  the  level 
country,  before  winter,  at  which  time  the  city  was  delight- 
ful, according  to  her  account.  It  is  situated  in  the  plain 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  not  far  from  the  sea,  and 
surrounded  by  beautiful  woods  and  groves  of  oranges  and 
lemons.  In  short,  she  said  so  much,  that  if  there  had 
been  a  good  road,  I  should  have  been  tempted  to  have 
visited  a  place  so  different  from  Irak  ;  but  this  is  one  of  the 
worst  points  of  Persia, — that  one  is  precluded  from  agree- 


CHAP.  XVII.          GEELAN  AND  MAZEXDERAX.  269 

able  excursions,  such  as  are  so  pleasant  in  other  countries, 
by  the  impracticable  roads,  hardly  safe,  even  for  those  ac- 
customed to  traverse  them,  on  horseback. 

From  all  I  can  learn,  I  am  sure  this  lady's  affection 
for  her  native  province  is  not  misplaced.  One  of  its  dra\v- 
backs,  however,  is  the  vicinity  of  the  Toorkomans,  which 
forces  the  population  of  Mazenderan  to  be  constantly  on 
their  guard.  The  peasantry  are  seldom  without  arms, 
even  in  the  cultivation  of  their  fields.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  province  are  said  to  make  good  soldiers  in  irregular 
warfare,  for  which  the  face  of  their  own  country  has 
so  well  prepared  them.  Unlike  the  other  parts  of 
Persia,  Mazenderan,  as  well  as  Geelan,  is  covered  with 
the  densest  forests  of  fine  timber  intermingled  with 
shrubs  and  brushwood.  All  the  forest  trees  of  England 
grow  here  in  the  greatest  perfection.  Along  the  coast  a 
stripe  of  land  varying  from  three  to  twenty  miles  in 
breadth,  runs  the  whole  length  of  the  two  provinces,  or 
rather  three,  for  in  Persian  geography  or  statistics, 
Asterabad  is  regarded  as  a  separate  province,  in  honour, 
I  suppose,  of  its  having  been  the  original  seat  of  the  royal 
Kajjar  tribe,  though  few  of  them  are  now  left  in  that 
district.  This  stripe  of  land  is  perfectly  flat ;  it  is  covered 
with  morasses,  jungles,  and  rice  plantations,  which,  added 
to  the  almost  unceasing  rain,  make  the  country  nearly 
impassable,  unless  by  the  beaten  track,  or  by  the  remains 
of  a  causeway  constructed  by  Shah  Abbas.  That 
monarch  delighted  to  reside  in  Mazenderan,  where  he 
built  a  sumptuous  palace.  This  level  tract  is  so  un- 
healthy in  summer  as  to  cause  its  inhabitants  to  abandon 
it  during  that  season,  and  to  take  refuge  in  the  high 


GEELAN  AND  MAZEXDEBAN.  CHAP.  XVII. 

mountains  which  bound  this  plain  along  its  entire  course, 
and  \vhich  are  accessible  only  through  very  difficult 
passes.  That  quaint  old  traveller,  Jonas  Hanway,  says 
that,  excepting  old  women,  mules,  and  poultry,  all  other 
animals  pine  away  with  sickness.  These  mountains  (the 
first  range  of  them  we  crossed  immediately  after  leaving 
the  Cheshmeh  Aala)  separate  Tehran  from  the  Caspian. 
They  are  known  under  the  name  of  Elboorz,  and  can  be  seen 
from  Shemeroon.  They  abound  in  mineral  wealth,  parti- 
cularly in  coal  and  iron.  Within  even  thirty  miles  of 
Tehran,  there  are  two  places  where  coal  can  be  procured 
in  abundance,  at  the  mere  cost  of  digging  and  conveying 
it  to  the  city.  In  a  country  destitute  of  wood  like  that 
part  of  Persia,  it  might  be  supposed  that  so  bountiful  a 
supply  would  have  been  highly  prized  ;  but  such  is  not  the 
case,  charcoal  and  wood  are  in  general  use  as  fuel,  and 
for  the  favourite  koorsee,  the  former  substance  is  prefer- 
able to  coal.  It  is  chiefly  by  the  blacksmiths  and  in  the 
houses  of  Europeans  that  coal  is  used,  but  this  latter 
circumstance  will  gradually  extend  its  consumption  to  the 
entire  population. 

From  the  above  remarks  it  will  be  seen  that  Geelan 
and  Mazenderan  are  sister  provinces.  In  the  aspect  of 
the  country,  the  climate,  the  manners  of  the  people,  there 
is  a  complete  resemblance.  The  productions,  too,  are 
similar,  with  the  exception  that  in  Geelan  the  culture  of 
silk  receives  a  much  greater  share  of  the  care  and  atten- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  and  large  quantities  of  a  fine  kind 
are  produced.  (H.)  The  exportation  of  this  article  of 
commerce  conduces  to  the  wealth  of  the  province,  and  thus 
gives  it  a  vast  superiority  over  Mazenderan,  where  the 


-.  XVII.          GEELAX  AXD  MAZEXDEEAX.  271 

same  substance,  though  of  a  coarser  kind,  is  manufactured. 
Sturgeon  and  salmon  are  caught  in  immense  quantities  on 
these  coasts  ;  the  fisheries  of  the  sturgeon  are  in  the 
hands  of  Russians,  who  rent  them  from  the  Persian 
Government.  Having  no  scales,  visible  at  least,  this  fish 
is  valueless  as  an  article  of  food  to  Persians.  The  best 
caviare  is  said  to  be  obtained  in  the  Caspian.  The  two 
provinces  under  a  judicious  government  could  be  ren- 
dered highly  valuable.  The  Russians  have  more  than 
once  attempted  to  possess  themselves  of  Geelan,  and 
towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  in  the  reign  of 
Agha  Mahommed  Khan,  the  founder  of  the  Kajjars, 
they  made  a  bold  effort  to  establish  themselves  in  Aster- 
abad.  They  landed  in  that  country  with  troops  and  guns, 
and  commenced  building  a  fort.  Agha  Mahommed  Khan, 
feeling  himself  unable  to  oppose  this  aggression  by  force, 
had  recourse  to  stratagem:  he  decoyed  the  Russian 
commander  and  his  officers  to  an  entertainment,  where 
they  were  immediately  seized,  and,  under  the  threat  of 
instant  death,  forced  to  surrender  their  fort,  which  was 
razed  to  the  ground. 

That  excellent  Oriental  traveller,  Mr.  James  Bayley 
Fraser,  describes  with  much  force  the  natural  power  of 
resistance  to  foreign  invasion  possessed  by  the  province  of 
Geelan.  The  following  remarks  seem  equally  applicable 
to  Mazenderan  : — "  There  are  few  countries  more  com- 
pletely protected  by  nature  against  external  aggression 
than  Geelan,  for  its  coast  is  lined  with  a  belt  of  impene- 
trable forest,  which  opposes  a  most  disheartening  aspect  to 
an  invading  foe,  whose  perplexity  would  be  increased  by 
the  deep  moordabs,  or  backwaters,  and  extensive  morasses 


272  RETURN  TO  DEMAWEND.  CHAP.  XVII. 

equally  covered  with  swamps  that  lie  behind  this  first  bar- 
rier. At  the  same  time  these  very  obstacles  would  prove 
the  best  advantage  to  defenders  acquainted  with  their  in- 
tricacies, and  afford  them  means  of  securely  annoying  their 
enemies.  On  the  south  the  passes  through  its  mountains 
are  of  extreme  steepness,  difficulty,  and  length,  and  could 
be  obstructed  or  defended  with  so  much  ease,  that  no 
hostile  army,  unassisted  by  treachery,  could  hope  to  force 
them/' 

Having  finished  a  profitless  course  of  the  mineral 
waters,  both  in  bathing  and  drinking,  we  took  leave  of 
the  kind  Larajanees,  and  set  out  on  our  return  to  the 
Valley  of  Demawend.  We  had  no  choice  but  to  clamber 
up  by  the  same  steep  road  that  we  had  slid  down  four 
weeks  previously.  Up-hill  the  trial  to  the  nerves  was  not 
so  great.  At  Cheshmeh  Aala,  from  whence  I  received  a 
daily  messenger,  I  found  that  all  had  passed  prosperously. 
Every  one  seemed  anxious  to  make  the  solitary  life  of  the 
party  we  had  left  there  as  agreeable  as  was  possible.  I 
begin  to  think  Persians  are  better  people  than  travellers 
are  willing  to  allow.  English  agents  are  often  brought 
into  contact  with  bad  classes,  and  they  hastily  assume  the 
whole  nation  to  be  equally  vicious.  In  no  country  could 
the  two  servants  and  young  children  we  left  at  Cheshmeh 
Aala  have  been  treated  with  more  kindness,  attention, 
and  respect. 


CH.U-.  XVIII.  ALARMING  REPORT.  273 


CHAPTEE  XVIII. 

Return  to  Goolahek  —  Attempt  to  murder  the  Shah  —  General  flight 
into  town  —  Fate  of  the  conspirators  —  Strange  punishments  — 
Arrival  of  the  Turkish  ambassador  —  Farewell  breakfast  with  the 
Grand  Vezeer's  wife. 

August,  1852. — GOOLAHEK  felt  very  sultry  when  we  re- 
turned to  it  from  our  pretty  encampment  at  the  "  Sublime 
Well."  My  husband,  however,  did  not  wish  to  be  long 
absent  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Court,  so  we  could 
not  prolong  our  stay  by  its  cool  waters.  A  few  days 
after  our  return,  when  seated  in  the  coolest  chamber  of  a 
house  in  the  village,  the  heat  having  driven  us  from  our 
tents,  Meerza  Hoossein  Koolee,  the  first  Persian  Secre- 
tary of  the  Mission,  entered  the  room  ghastly  and  gasping. 
"  The  Shah  has  been  killed  !  "  faltered  the  Meerza,  who 
used  himself  frequently  to  assert  that  he  was  the  most 
timid  man  in  Persia.  "  We  shall  all  be  murdered,"  I 
immediately  exclaimed. 

We  were  quite  alone  in  this  moment  of  deep  anxiety, 
all  the  members  of  the  Mission  having  happened  to  go  to 
town  that  day,  though  in  a  few  minutes  two  or  three 
princes  came  to  our  camp,  thinking  it  the  safest  place  in 
such  a  crisis.  We  had,  it  is  true,  a  guard  of  Persian 
soldiers,  but  on  them  no  dependence  could  be  placed ; 
perhaps  they  would  be  the  first  to  plunder  us.  No  time 
was  lost  in  despatching  three  messengers :  one  to  the 
Shah's  camp,  two  miles  distant,  to  learn  the  state  of 

N  3 


274  ATTEMPT  TO  MURDER  THE  SHAII.     CHAP.  XVIII. 

affairs ;  another  to  Tehran,  to  purchase  ammunition  and 
bring  out  some  fifty  carbines  and  pistols  from  the  Mission 
stores  ;  and  a  third  was  despatched  to  an  Afghan  friend, 
a  pensioner  of  the  Indian  Government,  to  send  us  some 
of  his  countrymen  to  resist  the  marauders,  who  would 
certainly  soon  make  their  appearance.  In  three  hours 
thirty  or  forty  trusty  horsemen  were  in  our  camp,  and  we 
were  promised  one  hundred  and  fifty  before  night. 

I  know  not  if  I  ever  experienced  greater  relief  than 
when  a  note  arrived  from  the  Prime  Minister,  saying  that 
the  Shah  had  been  only  slightly  hurt,  and  that  all  was 
well.  His  Majesty,  just  after  mounting  his  horse  to  pro- 
ceed on  a  hunting-excursion,  had  been  attacked  in  the 
midst  of  his  guards  by  four  Babees,  who  had  approached 
him  under  the  pretence  of  delivering  a  petition.  The 
King  had  been  thrown  from  his  horse,  and  slightly 
wounded  by  a  pistol-shot,  and  was  on  the  point  of  being 
despatched,  when  some  of  his  guards,  recovering  from 
their  stupor,  seized  the  assassins,  one  only  of  whom  was 
killed  in  the  scuffle.  The  two  Missions,  English  and 
Russian,  immediately  proceeded  to  wait  on  the  Shah,  to 
offer  their  congratulations,  which  were  assuredly  most 
sincere.  Notwithstanding  his  wound,  they  found  his 
Majesty  seated  as  usual.  He  was  pale,  but  looked  more 
angry  than  alarmed.  The  Shah  said  that  such  a  thing 
had  never  been  heard  of  as  the  attack  he  had  suffered. 
In  condoling  on  the  event,  it  was  easy,  though  scarcely 
appropriate,  to  allude  to  Nadir  and  to  the  founder  of  his 
own  dynasty  ;  so  his  Majesty  was  reminded  that  occur- 
rences like  this  were  not  uncommon  in  Petersburg,  and 
that  our  own  Gracious  Sovereign  had  not  been  free  from 


CHAP.  XVIII.  PANIC  AT  SHEMEROOX.  275 

such  attempts.  The  Shah  did  not,  however,  seem  to 
derive  any  consolation  from  companionship  in  his  danger. 

It  appeared  that  a  party  of  Babees  in  town  had  organ- 
ised a  conspiracy,  and  had  held  nightly  meetings  to 
mature  their  schemes.  These  were  simple  enough.  Their 
plan  \vas  to  murder  the  Shah,  sally  out,  sword  in  hand, 
in  the  midst  of  the  confusion  and  commotion,  seize  the 
government,  and  then  commence  the  reign  of  terror  and 
the  reign  of  the  saints  on  earth.  Four  of  the  conspirators 
were  chosen  to  execute  the  behest  of  the  plotters.  What 
a  fearful  state  of  things  had  we  providentially  escaped 
from  ! 

The  panic  at  Sherneroon  became  general ;  no  one  thought 
himself  safe  unless  within  the  walls  of  Tehran.  Every 
bush  was  a  Babee,  or  concealed  one.  Shah,  ministers, 
meerzas,  soldiers,  priests,  merchants,  all  went  pell-mell 
into  Tehran,  although  a  month  of  the  country  season  still 
remained.  The  Russian  Mission  fled  too,  so  that  not  a 
being  was  left  in  Shemeroon  excepting  ourselves,  nor  a 
tent  excepting  those  of  our  camp.  Colonel  S de- 
clared he  did  not  think  it  creditable  to  take  flight,  and 
that  he  would  remain  the  usual  time  in  his  summer- 
quarters  ;  moreover,  if  there  were  any  danger,  the  Eng- 
lish Mission  would  be  the  last  to  suffer  injury.  lie  was 
warned  by  some  Persian  friends  that  perhaps  the  result 
of  this  "  recklessness "  would  be  like  that  of  a  similar 
resolve,  made  some  years  ago,  when  a  violent  cholera 
broke  out,  and  one  of  the  Mission  fell  a  victim  to  the 
malady.  Still  we  remained,  and  no  evil  followed.  Indeed 
the  measures  adopted  to  repress  Babeeism  removed  all 
danger  for  the  moment,  whatever  retaliation  the  Babccs 


27''.  FATE  OF  THE  CONSPIRATORS.       CHAP.  XVIII. 

may  hereafter  inflict  should  their  faith  ever  acquire  the 
ascendancy. 

A  number  of  the  conspirators  had  been  seized,  whose 
fate  it  was  easy  to  anticipate.  The  Prime  Minister  was 
reminded  that  now  was  the  time  for  'a  practical  display  of 
the  advance  Persia  had  made  in  civilisation,  and  that  on 
whomsoever  death  was  to  be  inflicted,  it  ought  to  be  with- 
out the  addition  of  torture.  Fear  has  no  mercy.  His 
answer  was  that  this  was  not  a  time  for  trifling ;  and  that 
the  punishment,  however  severe,  of  the  criminals  who 
sought  to  spread  massacre  and  spoliation  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Persia,' was  not  to  be  deprecated,  or 
to  be  included  under  the  designation  of  torture,  which 
had  been  defined  to  be  the  infliction  of  pain  to  extort  a 
confession  of  guilt. 

About  thirty  persons  were  put  to  death,  and,  as  is  cus- 
tomary in  that  sect,  or,  perhaps,  in  all  new  sects,  they 
met  their  doom  without  shrinking.  Suleiman  Khan,  the 
chief  of  the  conspirators,  and  two  others  suffered  torture 
previously  to  execution.  The  two  last  were  either 
cut  to  pieces,  or  shot  or  blown  from  mortars.  Holes 
were  pierced  in  various  parts  of  Suleiman  Khan's  body, 
into  which  lighted  candles  were  placed,  and  allowed  to 
burn  down  to  the  flesh,  and,  while  still  alive,  he  was 
divided  into  two  parts  with  a  hatchet.  During  these 
horrible  tortures  he  is  said  to  have  preserved  his  fortitude 
to  the  last,  and  to  have  danced  to  the  place  of  execution 
in  defiance  of  his  tormentors,  and  of  the  agony  caused 
by  the  burning  candles.  Among  the  conspirators  was  a 
moolla  of  some  reputation.  After  the  attack  on  the 
Shah  had  failed,  he  had  persisted  in  urging  on  the  accom- 


CHAP.  XVIII.    DEVICE  OF  THE  PRIME  MINISTER.  277 

plishment  of  the  plot.  He  told  the  disciples  that  the 
work  must  not  be  left  incomplete,  and  that  he  was  re- 
solved to  bare  his  arm,  and,  sword  in  hand,  to  attack  the 
Shah  on  his  entrance  into  Tehran  ;  that  if  they  saw  him 
lying  as  if  dead,  they  were  not  to  believe  it ;  they  were 
to  fight,  and  he  would  rise  and  be  among  them. 

Strange  was  the  device  adopted  by  the  Prime  Minister 
to  elude  the  danger  personal  to  himself  of  slaying  so 
many  fanatical  Babees.  Their  vengeance  was  to  be 
apprehended,  as  about  this  time  many  persons  were  un- 
accountably murdered  in  Tehran,  who,  it  was  supposed, 
had  been  too  explicit  in  the  expression  of  their  feelings 
against  Babeeism.  His  Excellency  resolved  to  divide  the 
execution  of  the  victims  among  the  different  departments 
of  the  state ;  the  only  person  he  exempted  was  himself. 
First  came  the  Shah,  who  was  entitled  to  khissas,  or  legal 
retaliation,  for  his  wound.  To  save  the  dignity  of  the 
crown,  the  steward  of  the  household,  as  the  Shah's  repre- 
sentative, fired  the  first  shot  at  the  conspirator  selected  as 
his  victim,  and  his  deputies,  the  ferashes,  completed  the 
work.  The  Prime  Minister's  son  headed  the  Home 
Office,  and  slew  another  Babee.  Then  came  the  Foreign 
Office.  The  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  a 
pious,  silly  man,  who  spent  his  time  in  conning  over  the 
traditions  of  Mahommed,  with  averted  face  made  the 
first  sword-cut,  and  then  the  Under-Secretary  of  State 
and  clerks  of  the  Foreign-Office  hewed  their  victim  into 
pieces.  The  priesthood,  the  merchants,  the  artillery,  the 
infantry,  had  each  their  allotted  Babee.  Even  the  Shah's 
admirable  French  physician,  the  late  lamented  Dr.  Clo- 
quet,  was  invited  to  show  his  loyalty  by  following  the 


278  THE  TEHRAN  GAZETTE.  CHAP.  XVIII. 

example  of  the  rest  of  the  Court.  He  excused  himself, 
and  pleasantly  said  he  killed  too  many  men  professionally 
to  permit  him  to  increase  their  number  by  any  voluntary 
homicide  on  his  part.*  The  Sedr  was  reminded  that 
these  barbarous  and  unheard-of  proceedings  were  not 
only  revolting  in  themselves,  but  would  produce  the 
utmost  horror  and  disgust  in  Europe.  Upon  this  he 
became  very  much  excited,  and  asked  angrily,  "  Do  you 
wish  the  vengeance  of  all  the  Babees  to  be  concentrated 
upon  me  alone  ?  " 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  '  Tehran  Gazette  ' 
of  that  day,  and  will  serve  as  a  specimen  of  a  Persian 
"  leader :" — 

"Some  profligate,  unprincipled  individuals,  destitute 
of  religion,  became  disciples  of  the  accursed  Seyed  Ali 
Mahommed  Bab,  who  some  years  ago  invented  a  new 
religion,  and  who  afterwards  met  his  doom.  They  were 
unable  to  prove  the  truth  of  their  faith,  the  falsehood  of 
which  was  visible.  For  instance,  many  of  their  books 
having  fallen  into  our  hands,  they  are  found  to  contain 
nothing  but  pure  infidelity.  In  worldly  argument,  too, 
they  never  were  able  to  support  their  religion,  which 
seemed  fit  only  for  entering  into  a  contest  with  the  Al- 
mighty. They  then  began  to  think  of  aspiring  to  sove- 


*  The  fate  of  this  gentleman  was  most  melancholy.  Returning  one 
evening  from  attending  on  the  Shah,  he  called  for  a  glass  of  wine. 
His  servant,  an  Armenian,  brought  him  a  bottle  of  liquor,  of  which 
lie  drank  a  glass,  and  only  then  discovered  that  it  was  a  deadly  poison. 
He  died  in  great  agony  ten  days  afterwards.  He  was  highly  valued 
among  all  classes. 


CHAP.  XVIII.  A  PERSIAN  "  LEADER."  279 

reignty.  and  to  endeavour  to  raise  insurrections,  hoping  to 
profit  by  the  confusion,  and  to  pillage  the  property  of 
their  neighbours. 

"  A  wretched  miserable  gang,  whose  chief,  Moolla 
Sheikh  Ali  of  Toorsheez,  styled  himself  the  deputy  of  the 
former  Bab,  and  who  gave  himself  the  title  of  High 
Majesty,  collected  round  themselves  some  of  the  former 
companions  of  Bab.  They  seduced  to  their  principles 
some  dissolute  debauchees,  one  of  whom  was  Hajee 
Suleiman  Khan,  son  of  the  late  Yaheya  Khan  of  Ta- 
breez.  In  the  house  of  this  Hajee  it  was  their  practice 
to  assemble  for  consultation,  and  to  plan  an  attempt  on 
the  auspicious  life  of  his  Majesty.  Twelve  of  their 
number,  who  were  volunteers  for  the  deed,  were  selected 
to  execute  their  purpose,  and  to  each  of  them  were  given 
pistols,  daggers,  &c.  It  was  resolved  that  the  above 
number  should  proceed  to  the  Shah's  residence  at  Neea- 
veran,  and  await  their  opportunity." 

Then  follows  an  account  of  the  attack,  which  I  have 
already  given  in  sufficient  detail. 

"  Six  persons,  whose  crimes  were  not  so  clearly  proved, 
\vere  condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment ;  the  re- 
mainder were  divided  among  the  priesthood,  the  doctors 
of  the  law,  the  chief  servants  of  the  court,  the  people  of 
the  town,  merchants,  tradesmen,  artizans,  who  bestowed 
on  them  their  deserts  in  the  following  manner : — 

"The  moollas,  priests,  and  learned  body  slew  Moolla 
Sheikh  Ali,  the  deputy  of  Bab,  who  gave  himself  the  title 
of  Imperial  Majesty,  and  who  was  the  author  of  this 
atrocity. 

"  The  princes  slew  Seyed  Hassan,  of  Khorassan,  a  man 


280  SINGULAR  PUNISHMENTS.  CHAP.  XVIII. 

of  noted  profligacy,  with  pistol-shots,  swords,  and 
daggers. 

"  The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  full  of  religious 
and  moral  zeal,  took  the  first  shot  at  Moolla  Zeyn-ul- 
abedeen  of  Yezd,  and  the  secretaries  of  his  department 
finished  him  and  cut  him  in  pieces. 

"The  Nizam  ool  Mulk  (son  of  the  Prime  Minister) 
slew  Moolla  Hoossein. 

"Meerza  Abdul  Wahab,  of  Sheeraz,  who  was  one  of 
the  twelve  assassins,  was  slain  by  the  brother  and  sons 
of  the  Prime  Minister;  his  other  relations  cut  him  in 
pieces. 

"  Moolla  Fetoollah,  of  Koom,  who  fired  the  shot  which 
wounded  the  royal  person,  was  killed  thus.  In  the  midst 
of  the  royal  camp  candles  were  placed  in  his  body  (by 
making  incisions)  and  lighted.  The  steward  of  the 
household  wounded  him  in  the  very  place  that  he  had 
injured  the  Shah,  and  then  the  attendants  stoned  him. 

"  The  nobles  of  the  court  sent  Sheikh  Abbas  of 
Tehran  to  hell. 

"The  Shah's  personal  attendants  put  to  death  Ma- 
hommed  Baukir,  one  of  the  twelve. 

"  The  Shah's  master  of  the  horse  and  the  servants  of 
the  stable  horse-shod  Mahommed  Tekkee  of  Sheeraz, 
and  then  sent  him  to  join  his  companions. 

"  The  masters  of  the  ceremonies  and  other  nobles,  with 
their  deputies,  slew  Mahommed  of  Nejjeffabad  with 
hatchets  and  maces,  and  sent  him  to  the  depths  of  hell. 

"  The  artillerymen  first  dug  out  the  eye  of  Mahommed 
Ali  of  Nejjeffabad,  and  then  blew  him  away  from  a 
mortar. 


CIIAP.  XVIII.          THE  CHIEF  EXECUTIONER.  281 

"  The  soldiers  bayoneted  Syed  Hoossein,  of  Meelan, 
and  sent  him  to  hell. 

"  The  cavalry  slew  Meerza  RefFee. 

"  The  adjutant-general,  generals,  and  colonels  slew 
Syed  Hoossein." 

No  people  love  jesting  and  bantering  more  than  the 
Persians.  In  Tehran,  when  any  one  is  installed  in  office, 
it  is  usual  for  his  friends  and  those  under  his  authority  to 
send  him  sheereenee,  sweetmeats,  as  a  token  of  congratu- 
lation. When  these  executions  were  over,  it  was  said 
that  the  Shah's  meerghazabs  had  presented  sheereenee 
to  all  the  ministers  of  state,  as  a  mark  of  their  admission 
into  the  brotherhood.  The  chief  executioner  at  the 
Shah's  court  is  a  very  important  personage.  Hateful  as 
he  is  to  every  one,  it  is  curious,  I  hear,  to  observe  the 
deference 'with  which  he  is  treated.  As  the  highest  of 
the  courtiers  may  one  day  fall  into  his  fangs,  and  his  eyes 
or  feet  be  in  jeopardy,  they  do  the  utmost  to  propitiate 
him  beforehand  by  flattering  civilities,  something  on  the 
principle  of  the  Indians'  worship  of  his  infernal  majesty. 

There  was  still  another  victim.  This  was  a  young 
woman,  the  daughter  of  a  moolla  in  Mazenderan,  who, 
as  well  as  her  father,  had  adopted  the  tenets  of  Bab. 
The  Babees  venerated  her  as  a  prophetess  ;  and  she  was 
styled  the  Khooret-ool-eyn,  which  Arabic  words  are 
said  to  mean,  Pupil  of  the  eye.  After  the  Babee  insur- 
tection  had  been  subdued  in  the  above  province,  she  was 
brought  to  Tehran  and  imprisoned,  but  was  well  treated. 
When  these  executions  took  place  she  was  strangled. 
This  was  a  cruel  and  useless  deed. 

It  was  said  that  the  general  impression  produced  on 


282  THE  TURKISH  AMBASSADOR.         CHAP.  XVIII. 

the  people  by  all  this  bloodshed  was  not  favourable.  In- 
dignation at  the  attempt  on  the  Shah's  life  was  lost  in 
sympathy  for  the  fate  of  so  many  sufferers.  The  com- 
mon opinion  was,  that  the  poor  misguided  conspirators  of 
mean  condition,  whose  poverty  more  than  any  sentiment 
of  disloyalty  or  irreligion  had  enrolled  them  in  the  ranks 
of  Babeeism,  might  have  been  spared.  It  thus  appears 
that,  even  in  Persia,  a  vague  undefined  feeling  of  libe- 
rality in  religion  is  taking  root. 

November  2nd. — Tehran  was  enlivened  this  month  by 
the  arrival  of  an  Ottoman  Embassy,  at  the  head  of  which 
was  a  very  distinguished  person,  Ahmed  Vefeek  EfFendi. 
This  gentleman  was  a  most  agreeable  addition  to  our 
small  society.  His  conversation,  manners,  and  perfect 
knowledge  of  French  would  enable  him  to  pass  for  a  high- 
bred Frenchman  ;  and  I  was  informed  that  his  talents 
were  on  an  equality  with  his  accomplishments.  It  was  a 
constant  theme  of  surprise  to  us  all,  how  a  person  of  his 
capacity  could  be  condemned  to  the  obscurity  of  so  re- 
mote a  country  as  Persia ;  and  the  only  solution  to  the 
enigma  was  found  in  the  well-known  intrigues  of  Con- 
stantinople. 

I  am  informed  that  there  is  a  great  contrast  between 
the  manners  of  an  Ottoman  and  a  Persian  of  the  higher 
classes.  Both  are  perfectly  like  gentlemen,  but  in  a 
different  way.  The  Osmanli  is  calm,  sedate,  polished, 
perhaps  a  little  effeminate ;  the  Persian  is  lively,  cordial, 
witty,  and  amiable  ;  perhaps  a  little  boisterous,  for  he  is 
still  an  eelyat.  The  Turkish  courtier  spends  his  time 
in  roaming  up  and  down  the  Bosphorus,  leading  a  life  of 
luxury  and  ease,  never  quitting  the  capital.  The  Persian 


CHAP.  XVIII.       DIPLOMATIC  LIFE  IX  PERSIA.  283 

courtier  is  constantly  on  horseback,  hunting  with  his 
sovereign  in  weather  of  all  kinds,  or  accompanying  him 
in  journeys  from  one  end  of  Persia  to  the  other. 
The  Osmanli  may  be  more  refined  ;  the  Iranee  is  more 
original. 

One  can  hardly  imagine  a  grave  Osmanli  seated  at  the 
piano  playing  European  and  Turkish  airs ;  yet  one  of 
the  gentlemen  of  the  Turkish  Embassy  sometimes  did  us 
this  favour,  and  showed  considerable  power  on  the  instru- 
ment. What  would  his  grandsire  say,  I  sometimes 
thought,  if  he  could  see  him  ?  The  next  step  will  be 
emancipation  of  the  women  from  seclusion,  and  from  the 
present  pretence  of  a  veil. 

In  Persia,  for  want  of  more  important  subjects  of  con- 
tention, trifles  assume  a  magnitude  unintelligible  in 
Europe.  Samee  Effendi,  the  predecessor  of  the  present 
ambassador,  fought  (on  paper)  two  arduous  battles,  one 
about  a  pair  of  shoes,  the  other  concerning  a  chair. 
Ahmed  Vefeek  Effendi  is  obliged  to  expend  his  diplo- 
matic powers  in  a  struggle  to  display  an  Ottoman  flag 
over  his  door,  like  his  colleagues.  Great  pugnacity  and 
dexterity  were  arrayed  on  both  sides ;  and  I  believe  the 
contest  had  not  ceased  up  to  the  moment  we  left  Persia. 
Diplomatic  life  in  that  country  seems  made  up  of  things 
like  these. 

February,  1853. — My  husband  finding  it  useless  to 
struggle  against  bad  health,  we  resolved  to  quit  Persia  at 
once,  and  so  avoid  the  enervating  effects  of  another  sum- 
mer. We  had  a  great  deal  to  arrange  before  our  de- 
parture, and  Colonel  S had  numerous  visits  to  pay. 

As  for  me,  I  had  only  three  or  four.    The  Sedr  Azini  or 


284  THE  GRAND  VEZEER'S  CHAP.  XVIII. 

Grand  Vezeer's  wife,  when  she  heard  I  was  going  away, 
wrote  to  ask  me  to  breakfast  with  her  on  an  appointed 
day.  I  of  course  accepted  the  invitation,  and  spent  a 
pleasant  morning  in  her  society.  She  is  such  a  good 
woman,  besides  being  a  remarkably  clever  and  intelligent 
one,  that  she  is  highly  esteemed  and  respected.  The 
Sedr  Azirn  treats  her  as  a  European  husband  treats 
his  wife ;  and  she  has  no  rivals  in  her  anderoon.  The 
dejeuner  was  spread  on  a  table,  and  served  on  hand- 
some porcelain,  with  knives  and  forks  for  all  the 
party.  I  observed  she  and  a  friend  of  hers  who  sat 
beside  me  were  very  much  embarrassed  by  these  gastro- 
nomic implements,  so  I  begged  they  would  put  them  aside. 
They  instantly  adopted  my  suggestion,  and  tore  off  great 
pieces  of  a  savoury  stewed  lamb,  and  swallowed  handfuls 
of  rice  which  had  been  cooked  in  fat.  They  took  the 
precaution  of  squeezing  a  portion  of  the  fat  out  of  it 
with  their  fingers,  before  eating  it.  Wishing  to  show  me 
particular  attention,  the  Khanum  tore  off  a  delicate  morsel, 
and  with  her  own  hands  put  it  into  my  mouth.  There 
were  six  or  seven  of  her  children  seated  round  the  table, 
fine  healthy  boys  and  girls,  who  ate  like  Europeans 
without  any  difficulty,  and  two  of  the  boys  spoke  French. 
When  the  ladies  had  washed  their  hands  and  smoked  their 
kalleoons,  we  went  to  look  at  the  house  and  garden.  It  was 
a  fine  mansion,  built  in  the  usual  fashion  of  the  country,  of 
courts  leading  into  other  courts.  All  the  rooms  were  on 
the  ground-floor;  but  underneath  there  were  immense 
apartments,  nearly  dark,  where  the  family  lived  in  warm 
weather.  All  the  good  Tehran  houses  have  these 
zeerzemeens,  as  they  are  called.  The  floor  of  the  room 


CHAP.  XVIII.  WIFE  AND  FAMILY.  285 

where  she  received  me  was  covered  with  fine  Cashmeer 
shawls ;  and  there  were  cushions  embroidered  with  gold, 
and  others  covered  with  gold  brocade,  placed  against  the 
wall  all  around  the  room.  The  children  ran  about  laugh- 
ing and  playing,  just  like  English  young  folks.  They  all 
seemed  very  happy  and  gay,  more  so  than  any  family  I 
had  seen  in  Tehran.  The  Sedr  Azim's  wife  is  a  Mazen- 
deranee,  of  the  tribe  of  Nooree,  and  a  first  cousin  of  her 
husband,  who,  as  I  said  before,  always  calls  her  "  my 
uncle's  daughter."  > 


280  JOURNEY  TO  TABREEZ.  CIIAP.  XIX. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

Quit  Tehran  —  Journey  to  Tabreez  —  Lake  of  Ooroomeya  —  Farewell 
to  Persia  —  Oppression  of  the  Armenians  by  the  Koords  —  Our 
lodgings  in  Turkish  Armenia  —  Erzeroom  —  Road  and  journey 
from  Erzeroom  to  Trebizond  —  Pass  of  Kara  Kappan  —  Jevezlik 
—  Trebizond  —  Quarantine  —  Lazes  —  Constantinople. 

Tabrecz,  March  2Ist,  1853. —  ON  the  1st  of  this  month 
we  left  Tehran,  ray  mind  full  of  anxiety  and  care.  It  was 
an  arduous  undertaking,  with  an  invalid  and  with  three 
young  children,  to  commence  a  journey  of  1000  miles  to 
Trebizond.  But  there  was  no  resource ;  and  there  is 
always  consolation  in  remembering  "  la  journee  sera  dure, 
mais  elle  se  passera."  To  have  gone  by  Bagdad  would 
have  brought  us  into  the  heats  of  India.  The  Caucasus  was 
still  covered  with  snow ;  and  to  an  invalid  the  fatigue  and 
privation  of  Russian  travelling  are  excessive.  There  was 
consequently  no  choice.  This  is  one  of  the  most  disagree- 
able circumstances  incidental  to  a  residence  in  Persia. 
Once  established  in  that  country,  it  is  nearly  impossible  to 
get  out  of  it.  The  distance  is  so  great,  and  the  mode  of 
travelling  necessarily  so  slow,  one  must  be  content  to 
undergo  either  the  heat  of  the  torrid  zone  or  the  cold  of 
Siberia,  unless  by  leaving  Tehran  in  spring,  and  choosing 
the  road  by  Erzeroom,  or  in  autumn,  and  then  adopting 
the  circuitous  route  of  Bagdad  and  India. 

Three  takhterewans  contained  our  party,  in  which  we 
slowly  wended  our  way  to  Tabreez,  sometimes  on  horse- 


Cii.vr.  XIX.  LAKE  OF  OOROOMEYA.  287 

back  for  an  hour  or  two,  to  enjoy  the  fresh  air,  which  in 
a  takht  one  does  not  get  much  of.  A  minister  leaving  his 
post  is  a  different  person  from  one  proceeding  to  the  place 
of  his  diplomatic  functions  ;  yet  we  found  no  change  in 
politeness,  cordiality,  and  attention.  The  tea  and  sugar, 
it  is  true,  no  longer  appeared  at  each  station  ;  but  such 
things  are  mere  matters  of  form. 

We  reached  Tabreez  yesterday  after  a  more  agreeable 
journey  than  was  to  be  anticipated.  The  weather  was 
delightful,  though  cold,  as  we  ascended  to  Azerbijan. 
After  a  few  days'  rest  we  intend  to  continue  our  journey 
to  Erzeroom,  where  we  shall  again  take  some  repose. 

Erzeroom,  April  20th. —  We  are  to-morrow  to  resume 
our  journey  to  Trebizond ;  that  much  wished-for  port, 
where  we  shall  have  done  with  this  protracted  and  really 
toilsome  journey.  This  rest  was  much  required  by  all  our 
party  ;  and  we  enjoyed  the  clean  boarded  floors  and  white- 
washed walls  of  the  small  house  in  which  we  lodge,  and 
which  seems  a  palace  after  the  shelters  where  we  have 
passed  our  nights  during  the  preceding  week.  I  must  take 
up  my  journey,  however,  from  our  last  halting-place, 
Tabreez,  which  we  left  on  the  30th  of  March. 

Khoee  was  the  first  town  of  importance  after  Tabreez. 
On  our  way  to  it  we  passed  close  to  the  Lake  of  Ooroo- 
meya,  otherwise  called  Shahee.  On  ascending  the  high 
pass  leading  to  Khoee  the  lake  lay  at  our  feet.  We  had 
a  fine  view  over  the  expanse  of  that  silent  water,  the  Dead 
Sea  of  Persia,  which  contains  no  living  thing.  The  islands 
of  the  lake,  the  mountains  ofMaragha,  those  of  the  Mikree 
Koords  at  the  south  of  the  lake  near  the  Jaghata'i,  part  of 
the  district  of  Ooroomeya  with  the  Koordistan  mountains 


288  FAREWELL  TO  PERSIA.  CHAP.  XIX. 

behind  it,  revealed  themselves  with  the  rising  sun.  It  was 
a  fine  panorama.  We  only  stayed  to  rest  and  breakfast 
at  Khoee,  that  important  and  defenceless  city,  open  and 
ready  to  be  seized  upon  by  any  invader  ;  but  pressed  on  to 
the  next  stage.  Three  days  more  brought  us  to  the 
famous  plains  of  Chalderan,  the  scene  of  a  great  battle 
between  Shah  Ismael  Seffi  and  Sultan  Selim,  in  which  the 
former,  after  the  display  of  extraordinary  prowess,  was 
defeated.  It  was  here  the  Shah  cut  with  his  sword  the 
chain  with  which  the  Turkish  guns  were  linked.  The 
succeeding  day  brought  us  to  Awajik,  the  frontier  vil- 
lage of  Persia.  The  next  day  we  crossed  the  celebrated 
pass  of  Kazlee  Gool,  which,  however,  after  what  I  had 
beheld  in  Mazenderan,  was  nothing.  Here  is  the  boun- 
dary between  Persia  and  Turkey  ;  and  as  guns  cross  the 
pass  constantly,  the  road  ranks  among  the  tolerably  good. 
Bayazeed  lay  two  hours  to  the  right,  perched  among  crags, 
which  we  were  neither  in  the  mood  nor  in  the  plight  to 
explore. 

Here,  then,  we  bade  farewell,  a  long  farewell — that 
word  of  gloom — to  Iran.  The  retrospect  of  my  sojourn 
in  that  land  is  mingled  with  various  feelings.  It  is  agree- 
able now  to  look  back,  to  have  made  the  journey,  and  to 
have  resided  in  a  world  so  different  from  our  own  ;  and, 
notwithstanding  my  pleasure  at  the  thought  of  once  more 
ruturning  to  Europe,  yet  I  felt  a  kind  of  pang  as  I  re- 
turned the  salutes  of  the  Mehmendar  and  his  suite,  and 
a  sense  of  loneliness  as  we  pursued  our  bleak  track 
through  Turkish  Armenia,  a  detestable  land,  made  so  by 
misrule.  Mr.  Morier,  in  quitting  Persia,  says  that  his 
sensations  were  exactly  those  expressed  by  Touruefort 


CHAP.  XIX.  ARMENIANS  AND  KOORDS.  289 

when  he  determined  to  return  to  France;  and  I  have 
only  to  add,  that,  notwithstanding  the  momentary  feeling 
of  uneasiness,  my  sensations  were  exactly  those  of  Mr. 
Morier.  He  goes  on  to  say  that  the  people  are  false,  the 
soil  is  dreary,  and  disease  is  in  the  climate. 

Both  sides  of  the  frontier  present  a  direful  aspect  of 
desolation.  The  country  is  filled  with  various  tribes  of 
nomadic  Koords,  Hyderanlee,  Zeelan,  Meelan,  Jellalee, 
and  others,  who  plunder  caravans  and  travellers  whenever 
there  is  impunity,  and  oppress  the  villagers,  chiefly 
Armenian,  at  all  times.  One  day  they  declare  themselves 
the  subjects  of  Turkey,  and  the  next  of  Persia,  to  screen 
themselves  from  the  punishment  their  crimes  deserve. 
The  face  of  the  country  shows  the  insecurity  caused  by 
their  presence.  The  villages  are  few,  and  in  a  state  of 
miserable  poverty,  notwithstanding  the  rich  well-watered 
plains  in  which  they  are  situated.  The  cold  is  so  intense 
in  this  part  of  Turkey  and  Persia  as  to  prevent  the  Koords 
from  passing  the  winter  in  their  tents.  Those  who  can- 
not migrate  disperse  in  small  parties  in  the  Armenian 
villages,  which  they  not  only  insist  on  sharing  with  the  in- 
habitants, but  force  these  poverty-stricken  Armenians  to 
supply  them  with  forage  for  the  sustenance  of  their  nume- 
rous flocks  and  herds. 

Let  the  reformers  of  Turkey  ponder  on  this  crying  evil, 
and  save  the  poor  Armenians  from  the  oppressions  of  the 
wicked  Koords.  The  other  grievance  already  mentioned, 
of  Mussulman  travellers  making  Armenian  villages  the 
special  places  of  rest,  for  the  purpose  of  indulging  more 
freely  in  oppression  and  caprice,  has  already  been  men- 
tioned. We  ourselves  had  practical  experience  of  this 

0 


290  OUR  LODGINGS  IX  CHAP.  XIX. 

propensity.  Our  Turkish  mehmander  invariably  endea- 
voured, until  resisted,  to  select  an  Armenian  village  for 
our  nightly  halt ;  and  when  resting  in  a  Mussulman  vil- 
lage, he  was  equally  solicitous  to  expel  Armenians  from 
their  houses  for  our  accommodation.  This  question  was  a 
subject  of  almost  daily  remonstrance  and  reproof;  but 
habit  had  made  the  mehmander  inveterate  in  this  matter. 
He  promised  often  and  performed  seldom,  as  happens 
among  the  Osmanlis.  A  Georgian  proverb  says,  "  He 
who  trusts  to  a  Turk,  leans  on  a  wave." 

Aghree  Dagh,  or  Ararat — our  old  acquaintance  in 
Russian  Armenia — was  once  more  our  great  landmark.  It 
lay  on  our  right  hand,  and  seemed  quite  close.  I  think, 
however,  it  did  not  look  so  grand  as  on  the  Russian  side  : 
owing  perhaps  to  the  greater  height  of  the  ground  from 
which  we  were  gazing  at  it. 

We  plodded  our  weary  way  through  Turkish  Armenia. 
This  was  the  most  disagreeable  part  of  my  Eastern  expe- 
rience. The  annoyance  arose  from  the  dreadful  accom- 
modation at  night,  which  no  words,  at  least  none  that  I 
can  command,  could  describe.  The  villages  in  Armenia 
are  scarcely  visible  at  a  short  distance,  the  roofs  of  the 
houses  being  hardly  raised  above  the  adjacent  ground  ;  so 
that  sometimes  one  walks  over  a  house,  and  is  in  danger  of 
sinking  through  the  roof  before  becoming  aware  that  it  is  a 
human  habitation.  In  that  romantic  history,  the  retreat 
of  the  Ten  Thousand  Greeks,  this  peculiarity  is  alluded  to. 
The  cause  must  be  the  intense  severity  of  the  climate. 
The  interior  of  these  houses  is  completely  destitute  of  even 
an  approach  to  comfort ;  though  they  certainly  fulfil  the 
object  sought,  that  of  obtaining  warmth.  They  consist  of 


CHAP.  XIX.  TURKISH  ARMENIA.  291 

stables  of  vast  extent,  sunk  under  ground,  and  filled  with 
buffaloes,  cows,  sheep,  horses,  poultry ;  here  the  family 
live,  and  here  too  we  lived.  There  were  no  windows  ;  and 
the  only  outlets  from  these  houses  are  the  door  and  a  hole 
in  the  roof.  The  atmosphere  in  the  interior  may  be  con- 
ceived, and  so  too  may  the  misery  of  the  nights  passed 
in  these  abodes.  We  were  provided  with  tents ;  but 
the  cold  was  far  too  great  to  admit  of  our  using 
them.  These  stables  generally  contained  a  sakkoo,  on 
which  the  family  resided.  This  is  the  platform  I  have 
already  alluded  to,  raised  two  or  three  feet  above  the 
ground.  Sometimes  the  villages  were  so  small  and  so 
poor  as  not  to  possess  even  one  of  these  spacious  stables  ; 
on  which  occasions,  leaving  the  single  room  to  our  chil- 
dren, we  used  to  satisfy  ourselves  with  the  accommodation 
of  the  doorway.  Altogether  it  was  a  time  of  hardship 
and  trial  ;  for  sickness  was  augmented,  and  comforts  had 
decreased.  With  the  exception  of  the  Pass  of  Dehar, 
the  road  was  fortunately  level  and  good.  No  incidents 
marked  the  journey  ;  the  inhabitants  of  the  villages  were 
civil  and  obliging,  and  the  Koords  had  not  approached 
these  high  grounds,  where  no  pasture  was  yet  to  be  found 
for  their  flocks  and  herds.  We  consequently  were  free 
from  alarm  on  their  account.  A  few  years  ago  whole 
caravans  used  to  be  swept  away  by  these  banditti ;  but  of 
late  the  improved  relations  between  Persia  and  Turkey 
have  rendered  travelling  by  this  road  an  undertaking  of 
less  risk  than  formerly.  Nevertheless,  the  danger,  great 
as  it  sometimes  was,  from  Koords,  snow,  and  cold,  could 
not  induce  merchants  or  muleteers  to  abandon  this  road 

0  2 


292  ERZEROOM.  CHAP.  XIX. 

and  adopt  the  safer  and  more  commodious  route  through 
Georgia  and  Russian  Armenia. 

I  had  become  so  accustomed  to  fine  mountain  scenery 
as  to  be  comparatively  indifferent  to  it ;  and  I  had  learned 
to  be  far  more  anxious  about  good  roads  than  good  views. 
Still  it  was  impossible  not  to  be  impressed  by  the  wild 
grandeur  of  the  scenes  around  us.  Ararat  long  remained 
in  sight,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  steep  and  dark  range 
separating  us  from  Kars  ;  then  came  the  remarkable  peak 
of  Koosehdagh.  At  Hassan  Kalla,  one  stage  from  Erze- 
room,  we  had  a  respite  from  subterraneous,  pestiferous 
stables.  This  is  a  picturesque  town,  with  a  castle  perched 
on  a  high  steep  rock  overhanging  it.  It  is  said  that  this 
town,  or  Erzeroom,  was  the  boundary  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  From  Berwick  to  Hassan  Kalla — a  goodly 
kingdom  !  My  husband  found  here  in  the  governor  an 
old  friend,  who  insisted  on  vacating  his  house  for  us. 

Here,  in  Erzeroom,  we  feel  ourselves  to  be  approaching 
Europe ;  a  large  European  society,  as  it  seemed  to  us, 
being  established  in  that  town.  There  are  consuls  from 
France,  England,  and  Russia,  with  their  families,  mission- 
aries from  America,  besides  numerous  Europeans  in  the 
service  of  the  Porte.  The  American  missionaries,  at  the 
head  of  whom  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Peabody,  have  been  most 
kind  in  lending  us  this  comfortable  house  during  our  stay 
in  this  city. 

Erzeroom  is  a  large  town,  dirtier  and  more  disagree- 
able, I  think,  than  even  a  Persian  city ;  though  it  has  the 
advantage  of  not  being  built  of  sun-dried  brown  bricks, 
and  of  the  houses  havino;  windows  to  the  street.  Beino; 


ERZEROOM.  293 

situated  at  the  extremity  of  an  immense  plain,  on  a  hill  at 
the  foot  of  a  range  of  mountains,  it   makes   a  striking 
appearance  from  a  distance,  with  its  castle  and  numerous 
minarets  and  mosques.     It  winter  it  must  be  one  of  the 
bleakest  and  most  desolate  places  in  Asia.     My  husband 
passed  nearly  two   years   here,  and   has  seen   a   heavy 
snow-shower  in  July.     Snow  falls  in  November,  and  does 
not  disappear  from  the  plains  until  the  middle  of  April. 
The  climate  is  so  desperate  that  the  inhabitants  are  reduced 
to  designate  a  cabbage-field  as  "  the  garden ;"  there  being 
no  other  known  throughout  the  land.   Add  to  this  six  me- 
lancholy poplars,  and  behold  the  extent  of  the  sylvan  and 
horticultural  productions  of  Erzeroom.    The  thermometer 
falls  to  27°  below  zero,  Fahrenheit ;  and  nevertheless  wheat 
and  barley  are  produced  in  abundance  in  the  ample  plain 
or  valley  below.     The  inhabitants  are  notorious  for  their 
ignorance  and  fanaticism.     A  few  years  ago  a  tumult  was 
excited  by  some  disagreement  between  a  party  of  Persians 
and  Turks.    The  mob  rose  in  wrath,  and  resolved  to  exter- 
minate the  whole  of  the  Persian  population.  They  marched 
to  the  house  of  the  Persian  commissioner,  the  colleague  of 
Sir  W.  Williams,  and  prepared  to  assault  it.    Had  they 
succeeded  in  gaining  an  entrance,  no  doubt  all  the  inmates 
would  have  been  massacred.     Sad  to  say,  to  appease  the 
craving  fury  of  the  vile  multitude,  the  commissioner  thrust 
forth  one  of  his  followers — a  hapless  traveller,  I  believe. 
In  a  moment  he  was  hacked  to  pieces.     In  the  mean  while 
the  Turkish  authorities  and  troops,  with  Sir  W.  Williams 
and   General  Tchernitchoff,    the   Russian   commissioner, 
appeared  in  time  to  save  the  remainder. 

Trelizond,  May  1th. — When  we  left  Erzeroom,  on  the 


294  JOURNEY  TO  TREBIZOND.  CHAP.  XIX. 

21st  of  April,  we  felt  sure  that  seven  marches,  as  they  are 
called,  would  have  brought  us  to  this  place.  Sudden  and 
serious  illness  interfered,  and  we  only  reached  Trebizond 
on  the  4th  of  this  month. 

We  were  glad  to  quit  dreary  Erzeroom,  and  for  the  first 
two  days  got  on  very  well ;  the  road  was  good,  and  we  had 
"  superior  "  stables  to  sleep  in.  A  few  miles  from  the 
town  we  crossed  the  Euphrates,  as  the  Kara  Soo  is  honoured 
by  being  designated  ;  though  the  other  and  more  important 
branch,  under  the  name  of  Morad,  rises  within  some  miles 
of  Bayazeed.  It  was  curious  to  look  at  this  rivulet,  and 
then  think  of  the  mighty  Shattool  Arab  at  Bussora.  At 
twenty  miles  from  Erzeroom  we  entered  the  mountains  by 
the  pass  of  Khoosha  Poongar.  I  may  say  that  from  hence 
to  Trebizond,  a  distance  of  about  150  miles,  it  was  nothing 
but  a  succession  of  mountain  upon  mountain,  increasing 
daily  in  size  and  ruggedness,  excepting  in  the  vicinity  of 
Baiboort,  on  the  Choorook  Soo  river,  where  there  was  a 
short  respite.  Surveyed  from  the  top  of  one  mountain, 
the  whole  country  looked  like  a  gigantic  rough  sea,  the 
mountain  peaks  seeming  to  be  monstrous  waves.  The  toil  of 
travelling  in  takhterewans  in  these  elevated  regions  may 
be  conceived,  as  well  as  the  uncomfortable  sensations  of 
passing  in  that  vehicle  through  precipitous  paths  over- 
hanging yawning  gulfs.  I  could  sometimes  see,  on  such 
occasions,  the  precipice  beneath,  and  would  have  wished  to 
quit  the  takht,  but  it  was  too  late,  as  to  stop  would  only 
increase  the  danger.  The  accommodations  became  worse 
and  worse,  and  we  began  to  regret  the  stables  of  the  lower 
tracts,  which  at  least  were  dry.  Here  the  houses  were 
built  of  mud  and  loose  stones,  admitting  such  damp  as 


CJIAP.  XIX.  PASS  OF  KARA  KAPAN.  295 

produced  most  acute  illness,  of  which  the  issue  was  doubt- 
ful, and  which  obliged  us  to  stop  in  a  lonely  village  for 
four  days.  Misled  by  the  muleteers,  who  thought  only  of 
the  shortest  road  to  their  destination,  we  endeavoured, 
though  now  only  early  spring,  to  reach  Trebizond  by  the 
summer  road.  This  led  us  over  the  toilsome  but  mag- 
nificent pass  of  Kara  Kapan.  There  was  no  danger,  but 
the  fatigue  was  excessive.  Contrary  to  our  expectations, 
the  path  was  covered  with  deep  snow,  which  forced  us  to 
quit  the  takhts,  and  wade  more  than  ankle-deep  through 
it  for  long  distances.  In  our  circumstances  this  neces- 
sity was  a  sore  trial.  But  I  learned  on  this  journey  that 
neither  children  nor  invalids  know  how  much  fatigue  and 
privation  they  can  endure  until  they  are  under  compulsion. 
We  were  fourteen  hours  on  the  road  that  day  ;  and  as  we 
had  expected  to  arrive  at  the  summit  at  about  three  o'clock, 
we  had  not  brought  any  provisions  with  us.  The  children 
became  very  hungry,  and  eagerly  grasped  at  some  stale 
bread  one  of  the  servants  had  in  his  pocket.  At  length 
we  reached  the  top,  and  found  there  four  or  five  little  huts 
which  had  not  been  occupied  since  the  preceding  autumn, 
and  were  still  damp  with  the  winter's  snow.  Glad  we 
were,  nevertheless,  to  enter  them,  and  warm  ourselves  at 
the  blazing  pine-wood  the  servants  had  collected. 

Next  morning  early  we  prepared  to  descend  from  bleak 
winter's  snow  into  sunny,  smiling  spring.  Only  one  more 
stage  remained  to  Trebizond,  and  we  were  able  to  appre- 
ciate the  glorious  prospect  before  us  fully.  The  road  was 
broad  and  safe  ;  it  wound  through  a  thick  wood  of  fine 
trees,  intermingled,  as  we  descended,  with  shrubs,  ever- 
greens, and  creeping  plants.  The  rhododendron  and  myrtle 


296  TREBIZOXD.  CHAP.  XIX. 

were  in  full  blow,  and  the  number  of  wild  flowers  was 
surprising.  A  residence  of  some  years  in  barren  Persia 
contributes  in  no  small  degree  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  scene 
like  this.  At  the  bottom  of  the  pass  we  reached  our  sta- 
tion, Jevizlik,  than  which  a  more  lovely  spot  cannot  be 
conceived.  Two  streams  rush  through  the  valley,  and, 
uniting  close  to  Jevizlik,  fall  into  the  sea  near  Trebizond. 
A  most  romantic-looking  castle,  perched  on  a  steep  rock, 
overlooks  the  stream,  and  guards  the  pass.  Woods  and 
Verdure  clothe  the  hills  and  mountains  to  the  top,  inter- 
mingled with  cultivated  lands,  villages,  and  detached 
farm-houses.  If  the  sea  were  visible,  I  question  if  the 
road  from  Leghorn  to  Genoa  would  afford  a  finer  sight. 
The  next  day  we  reached  Trebizond.  This  city  was  not 
visible  until  we  were  within  two  or  three  miles  of  it. 
Suddenly,  on  getting  round  a  mountain  which  had  inter- 
cepted the  view,  it  lay  below  at  our  feet  like  a  beautiful 
panorama.  The  sea  looked  like  an  old  friend,  and  was 
dotted  with  ships  and  steamboats.  I  felt  that  our  toils 
were  over,  and  as  if  we  were  already  in  Europe.  This 
thriving  town  rises  from  the  sea  up  the  face  of  the  hill,  not 
unlike  Genoa.  Compared  with  the  Persian  cities  and  the 
Turkish  towns  I  had  seen,  it  was  neatness  itself.  On  the 
east  of  the  town  are  the  craggy  rocks  of  Boz  Teppeh ;  on 
the  west  is  the  ancient  castle ;  and  to  the  south  are  ranges 
of  wooded  hills,  rising  in  height  as  they  successively  recede. 
English  commerce  and  steam  have  raised  Trebizond  to  its 
present  flourishing  state,  by  the  vast  quantities  of  English 
manufactures  which  from  hence  are  conveyed  to  Persia, 
for  which  Bushir  and  Bagdad  had  been  the  previous 
routes.  It  is  strange  that  a  Persian  Armenian  should 


CHAP.  XIX.  QUARANTINE.  297 

have  been  the  first  to  discover  the  convenience  of  this  road. 
But  Armenians  have  a  genius  for  commerce,  though 
seldom  of  an  enterprising  kind.  This  gentleman,  whose 
name  was  Sittik  Khan,  conveyed,  twenty-four  years  ago, 
a  cargo  of  merchandise  belonging  to  himself,  or  to  his 
friends  in  England,  through  all  the  perils,  at  that  time 
very  serious,  from  the  Koordish  marauders ;  and  each 
succeeding  year  has  augmented  the  number  and  the  value 
of  the  caravans. 

We  are  undergoing  here  the  ordeal  of  a  ten  days' 
quarantine,  to  remind  us,  I  suppose,  that  we  are  on  the 
threshold  of  Europe.  If  we  were  more  comfortably  lodged, 
the  repose  after  our  harassing  journey  would  be  rather  a 
luxury  than  otherwise. 

I  hear  the  Turk  of  Trebizond  is  a  very  different  person 
from  the  genuine  Osmanli.  The  distinction  is  so  visible 
and  so  great,  as  to  create  a  strong  belief  of  his  being  a 
Greek  in  disguise — the  descendant,  in  short,  of  the  old 
Greek  population.  Though  affecting  to  be  real  Osmanlis, 
that  is,  the  offspring  of  the  Turkish  invaders,  collected 
together  by  the  house  of  Osman,  they  are  by  the  latter 
called  Laz,  that  being  the  name  of  the  population  between 
Trebizond,  Batoon,  and  Gooriel.  I  am  informed  that 
the  Laz  are  probably  allied  in  race  with  the  Mingrelians 
and  Imeretians,  to  whom  they  are  said  to  bear  a  resem- 
blance in  dialect.  Among  the  real  Turks  their  reputation 
is  low,  to  be  called  a  Laz  being  held  as  a  term  of  reproach 
equivalent  to  an  imputation  of  a  want  of  faith,  honour,  or 
religion.  A  Laz,  as  a  Turkish  proverb  says,  will  at  any 
time  "  kill  a  man  for  an  onion." 

There  cannot  be  a  greater  contrast  than  that  between  the 

o3 


298  CONSTANTINOPLE.  CHAP.  XIX. 

"  Trebizanli"  Laz,  or  Greek,  and  the  lazy  fanatic  Turk 
of  Erzeroom,  laden  with  conceit  and  ignorance.  The 
native  of  Trebizond  is  said  to  be  full  of  activity  and 
energy ;  he  is  cheerful  and  lively ;  unlike  everything 
Turkish,  he  puts  his  gun  on  his  shoulder  and  trudges  over 
the  mountains  in  quest  of  game.  Still  more  curious  and 
un-Turkish,  you  meet  him  on  Friday  with  a  party  of  his 
comrades,  sauntering  amid  the  beautiful  environs  of  his 
native  city,  accompanied  by  a  fiddler  and  singer,  with 
whom  he  does  not  disdain  to  join  in  chorus.  It  is  sus- 
pected that  on  these  occasions  the  merrymakers  are  sup- 
ported by  something  which  gives  inspiration  to  the  fiddle 
and  song. 

Constantinople,  June  2nd. — In  due  time,  or  rather  after 
due  time,  we  reached  Istambol.  There  are  two  com- 
panies of  steamboats  between  Trebizond  and  Constanti- 
nople, Austrian  and  English,  and  considerable  rivalry 
exists  between  them.  At  one  time  they  took  deck  pas- 
sengers for  nothing,  and,  they  say,  treated  them  to  a  dish 
of  pillao  besides ;  but  I  cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  story.  Our  large  party  was  a  prize,  and 
by  some  Levantine  cleverness  we  were  booked  in  a  crazy 
English  boat.  The  deck  was  so  entirely  covered  with 
deck  passengers,  that  for  five  days  we  could  never  leave 
the  close  cabin.  I  do  not  know  what  would  have  become 
of  us  if  there  had  been  a  storm,  for  the  paddles  hardly 
moved.  To  this  day  I  cannot  think  of  it  without  a  feeling 
of  resentment  towards  all  concerned  in  putting  us  on  board. 
"We  were  met  in  the  harbour  of  Constantinople  by  Lieu- 
tenant Glascott,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  attached  to  the  Perso- 
Turkish  Frontier  Commission,  who  kindly  brought  to  meet 


CHAP.  XIX.  CONSTANTINOPLE.  299 

us  two  nice  caiques,  and  had  carriages  ready  for  us  on  the 
shore  to  take  us  to  the  hotel. 

Whoever  has  seen  Constantinople  will  pardon  the  cu- 
pidity of  the  Emperor  Nicholas.  It  is  created  for  uni- 
versal empire,  and  one  does  not  wonder  the  Romans 
transferred  their  capital  to  this  magnificent  site.  A 
traveller  from  Persia  sees  Constantinople  under  a  different 
aspect  from  one  coming  from  the  West.  To  me  every- 
thing was  couleur  de  rose,  and  Pera  had  all  the  effect  of  a 
European  town.  The  shop-windows — the  hairdressers — 
the  ladies  in  their  wonderfully  small  French  bonnets  and 
with  their  faces  uncovered — the  Osmanli  women,  too,  with 
their  gauze  veils  and  frightful  costume,  the  former  cover- 
ing without  concealing  the  lips — the  strange-looking  cabs 
in  the  streets — all  was  new  and  delightful  to  me. 

We  brought  with  us  to  Constantinople,  all  the  way  from 
Tehran,  two  Persian  men-servants  and  a  Persian  nurse. 
One  of  the  former  was  engaged  to  be  married  to  the 
nurse,  who  was  a  widow,  on  their  return  to  Tehran.  Next 
door  to  the  hotel  where  we  resided  lived  a  family  of 
Perotes,  among  whom  were  several  young  ladies  remark- 
ably well  looking.  They  spent  several  hours  daily  in 
walking  up  and  down  before  their  door,  without  bonnets 
or  shawls,  gaily  attired  in  nicely  fitting  dresses.  They 
completely  absorbed  and  bewildered  our  two  Persians, 
who  devoted  the  day  to  gazing  on  these  houris,  and  in 
lamenting  they  could  not  take  wrives  like  these  back  to 
Persia.  The  nurse  was  forgotten,  and  she  became  exces- 
sively angry,  abused  her  betrothed,  and  said  she  could 
never  bestow  another  thought  on  such  a  fool  as  he  proved 
himself  to  be. 


300  CONSTANTINOPLE.  CHAP.  XIX. 

We  had  the  ill  luck  to  find  the  principal  hotel  com- 
pletely full,  so  that  we  were  obliged  to  content  ourselves 
with  one  not  of  equal  excellence.  We  were,  I  doubt  not, 
troublesome  guests,  and  an  invalid  cuisine  requires  care. 
I  am  sure  we  should  have  fared  very  badly  had  it  not  been 
for  the  kindness  of  Her  Majesty's  Ambassador.  I  shall 
always  preserve  a  grateful  recollection  of  Lord  Stratford's 
many  kindnesses  during  a  month's  residence  at  Constan- 
tinople. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  sights  in  the  streets  of 
Constantinople  is  the  appearance  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 
It  is  strange  to  see  in  the  midst  of  the  Turkish  town  their 
well-known  dress,  recalling  to  mind  the  streets  of  Paris. 
Not  only  do  they  pass  through  the  crowd  unmolested  in 
the  performance  of  their  duties,  but  are  even  treated  with 
consideration  and  respect.  Two  large  establishments  of 
these  nuns  have  been  formed  in  Galata  and  Pera.  With 
the  exception  of  one  or  two  Irishwomen,  these  nuns  are 
all  natives  of  France.  I  paid  a  visit  to  one  of  the  former, 
who  showed  me  over  the  fine  hospital,  where  sick  strangers 
are  admitted  without  regard  to  creed  or  country. 

Here  I  shall  conclude.  The  journey  home,  by  Malta 
and  Marseilles,  is  an  everyday  occurrence,  and  my  joy  at 
returning  would  have  been  complete  but  for  the  death  of 
our  faithful  terrier,  Crab.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  say  how 
this  event  embittered  everything,  for  it  is  uninteresting 
to  all,  and  by  some  would  not  be  understood. 


(    301    ) 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 


NOTE  (A.).    Page  39. 
EUSSIAN  MILITARY  INFLUENCE  IN  THE  EAST. 

General  Macintosh's  plan  for  conducting  the  siege  of  Sebastopol  — 
Our  share  in  its  fall  —  Suggestion  for  making  military  service  com- 
pulsory —  Our  next  battle-field  against  Russia  :  prospects  if  in 
Georgia  —  Inactivity  of  Schamil  and  the  mountain  tribes  during  the 
late  war  —  The  Russian  army  in  Georgia,  its  pay  and  mortality  — 
Caucasian  tribes  —  Power  of  Russia  south  of  the  Caucasus. 

EUPATORIA,  Sebastopol,  Kaffa,  Kertch !  These  memorable 
names  excite  recollections  too  vivid  to  leave  them  without 
devoting  a  few  reflections  to  the  theatre  of  so  many  mo- 
mentous deeds.  True,  though  trite,  it  is  easy  to  be  wise 
after  the  event ;  yet  who  can  help  regretting  that  a  different 
plan  was  not  followed  in  the  subjugation  of  Sebastopol  ? 

There  was,  however,  one  man  who  was  wise  before  the 
event.  Major- General  Macintosh,  who  now  commands  the 
forces  in  the  Ionian  Islands,  clearly  laid  down  the  prin- 
ciple at  the  commencement  of  the  siege,  if  not  before  it, 
that  the  mode  of  conducting  an  attack  against  Sebastopol 
was  by  landing  an  army  at  Kertch,  and,  after  beating  the 
enemy  in  the  open  field,  to  cut  off  the  communication  with 
Perekop,  and  then  commence  the  siege  at  full  leisure,  with 
all  the  appliances  of  war.  General  Macintosh's  book  is  not 
before  me,  but  this  is  the  substance  of  his  plan,  which  he 
develops  in  considerable  detail,  and  with  the  intelligence 
of  a  man  who  knows  his  profession,  and  has  been  on  the 
ground. 

Sebastopol  has,  however,  fallen,  and  the  English  army 
has  earned  a  share,  small  or  great,  of  the  reputation  of 
that  feat.  We  cannot  disguise  from  ourselves  that  we 


302  PROPOSED  DEFENSIVE  MEASURE.  NOTE  A. 

were  eclipsed  by  the  overwhelming  numerical  supe- 
riority of  the  French.  Some  among  us  find  consolation 
by  deluding  themselves  with  the  assurance  that  we  are  not 
a  military  nation,  and  should  not  pretend  to  vie  with  a 
people  essentially  martial,  like  our  Gallic  neighbours. 
Most  bitter  consolation  !  With  a  European  population,  the 
colonies  being  included,  little  inferior  to  that  of  France, 
we  are  driven  to  the  resource  of  hiring  mercenaries  from 
every  land,  heedless  of  the  fate  of  those  nations  who  have 
sought  to  defend  their  soil  or  their  interests  by  the  arms  of 
foreign  levies. 

When  wealth  and  luxury  have  taken  such  root,  that  an 
army  can  no  longer  be  obtained  by  voluntary  recruitment 
adequate  to  maintain  the  honour  and  the  interests  of  an 
empire,  or  secure  respect  from  friend  and  foe,  its  dignity 
and  safety  combine  in  urging  the  community  to  a  sacrifice ; 
the  state  of  war  should  be  the  signal  for  making  every  man 
throughout  the  land  fit  for  military  service  available 
wherever  necessary. 

In  these  days,  when  the  voice  of  the  people  is  so  potent, 
we  may  feel  assured  that  no  war  can  be  undertaken  from 
mere  wantonness,  or  unless  the  interests  of  the  nation  abso- 
lutely require  it. 

When  war  is  unavoidable,  there  seems  no  good  reason 
why  the  person  as  well  as  the  purse  should  not  be  made 
available  for  the  general  welfare.  A  law  of  this  kind, 
passed  with  the  consent  of  the  nation — the  Crown,  the 
aristocracy,  and  the  people — is  no  greater  infringement 
on  the  liberty  of  the  subject  in  the  one  case  than  in  the 
other. 

The  economy  to  the  State  would  be  great.  The  man 
whose  lot  it  was  to  take  his  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  army 
for  a  limited  space  would  not  require  to  be  bribed  by  high 
bounties,  or  high  pay,  or  pampered  with  high  feeding ;  an 
assurance  would  thus  be  given  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
large  force  during  war. 

The  "  Peace  party  "  ought  to  hail  a  measure  of  this  kind, 
for  no  stronger  guarantee  could  be  given  for  peace.  Such 
a  law,  added  to  the  wealth  of  England,  would  render  her 


NOTE  A.  OUS  PROSPECTS  IN  GEORGIA.  303 

invincible  if  attacked,  and  make  other  nations  slow  to  pro- 
voke her  enmity. 

But  the  day  for  this  act  of  legislation  has  not  yet  come. 
Still,  who  can  tell  how  soon  it  may  force  itself  on  the  con- 
sideration of  the  nation  with  an  irresistible  pressure  ? 

Peace  has,  howeverj  been  proclaimed — a  peace  which 
Russia  has  been  in  such  haste  to  conclude  that  suspicion  is 
aroused  whether  she  intends  it  to  be  permanent.  Will  the 
next  battle-field  be  the  Crimea,  or  Bessarabia,  or  Georgia  ? 

It  is  hazardous  to  oifer  a  prediction  of  the  result  of  war- 
like operations  in  a  remote  country,  where  chance,  an 
unskilful  commander,  the  interception  of  a  convoy,  may 
defeat  the  most  adroit  combinations.  Yet,  should  the 
Georgian  provinces  be  the  scene  of  our  next  campaign 
against  Eussia,  there  appears  a  fair  chance  of  success  for 
our  arms.  It  would  scarcely  seem  a  sound  calculation 
to  reckon  on  efficient  aid  from  the  Christian  population 
of  those  provinces;  they  appear,  compared  with  other 
Asiatic  states,  to  be  fairly  governed,  or  at  all  events 
with  an  absence  of  violence  and  oppression.  They  par- 
take, without  molestation,  of  the  material  enjoyments  of 
life  ;  unlike  their  co-religionists  in  Persia,  if  not  in  Turkey, 
their  property  is  safe  from  sequestration ;  and  they  are 
from  time  to  time  admitted  to  high  military  employment. 
Bagration,  of  the  days  of  1812,  was  a  Georgian  ;  and  Be- 
butoif,  the  governor  of  Tiflis,  is  an  Armenian.  The  want 
of  that  liberty  of  speech  so  cherished  by  Asiatics,  and  the 
more  than  occasional  corruption  of  Russian  authorities,  are 
their  chief  grievances.  An  inroad  of  Turks,  therefore, 
backed  though  it  may  be  by  the  name  and  reputation  of 
I  -A  inland  and  France,  will  have  little  allurement  for  people 
in  their  condition,  who,  from  similarity  of  religion,  hardly 
feel  their  conquerors  to  be  foreigners.  But  it  is  in  all  like- 
lihood otherwise  as  to  the  Mussulman  population  of  the 
Transcaucasian  districts.  They  can  scarcely  yet  have  for- 
gotten the  real  independence  of  their  government  when 
nominally  subject  to  Persia  and  Turkey.  They  have  not 
amalgamated  with  the  Russians.  Though  Sheahs,  and 
therefore  not  friendly  to  the  followers  of  Omar,  it  seems 
tolerably  certain  that  the  prospect  of  independence  and  of 


304  MOETAL1TY  AXD  PAY  OF  THE  NOTE  A. 

casting  off  the  Christian  yoke  would  make  them  smother 
sectarian  rivalry,  and,  remembering  only  their  common 
Mahommedanism,  they  would  welcome  the  Ottoman  flag, 
particularly  in  conjunction  with  the  forces  of  France  and 
England. 

It  is  impossible  to  avoid  being  struck  with  the  little  that 
has  been  done,  during  the  war  just  terminated,  by  Shamil, 
the  Lezghees,  the  Circassians,  and  other  mountain  tribes, 
in  molesting  the  Russians  in  the  Caucasus,  and,  above  all,  in 
harassing,  if  not  interrupting,  their  communications  through 
its  defiles.  After  the  feats  we  have  formerly  read  of  the 
destruction  of  various  Eussian  corps,  general  after  general 
driven  back  with  slaughter,  to  any  one  who  has  beheld  the 
formidable  defile  of  Dariel,  a  bold  stroke  against  the  Bus- 
sians,  conducted  by  a  master  head  and  hand  like  Shamil's, 
would  seem  no  impossibility.  Want  of  unity  of  purpose, 
the  interests  of  to-day  overruling  those  of  to-morrow,  or 
levity  and  corruption,  are  the  best  explanation  of  great 
hopes  being  disappointed,  and  of  great  opportunities  being 
turned  to  little  account. 

Being  on  the  subject  of  Georgia,  perhaps  it  may  gratify 
the  reader  to  receive  some  additional  information  respect- 
ing that  country.  An  English  traveller  having  commu- 
nicated to  me  some  authentic  particulars  as  to  the  popula- 
tion, both  Christian  and  Mahommedan,  as  well  of  that 
province  as  of  the  Caucasian  regions  in  general,  I  shall 
proceed  to  repeat  it. 

"  To  explain  how  I  was  enabled  to  acquire  information, 
which  I  scarcely  think  could  be  collected  by  another  tra- 
veller, it  may  be  sufficient  to  state  that  a  number  of  acci- 
dental circumstances  opened  to  me  unexpected  sources. 

"  The  actual  yearly  loss  of  soldiers  by  death  and  deser- 
tion, particularly  the  former,  is  enormous.  I  never  heard 
it  estimated  by  the  Eussians  themselves  at  less  than  one- 
tenth.  1  have  reason  to  believe  it  to  be  much  more,  as  a 
person  who  neither  would  exaggerate,  nor  could  be  de- 
ceived, corrected  my  assertion  of  one-tenth  by  repeatedly 
stating  it  as  a  fourth,  in  conversation  with  myself. 

"  This  proportion  was  corroborated  by  another  most 
competent  authority,  who  stated  that  on  an  average  10,000 


NOTE  A.  RUSSIAN  ARMY  IN  GEORGIA.  305 

recruits  arrived  annually  in  Georgia,  and  I  know  that  in  a 
few  months  of  the  autumn  of  1836,  of  600  men  who  formed 
the  garrison  of  Poti  on  the  Black  Sea,  200  died,  and  this 
was  not  reckoned  an  unusually  sickly  season. 

"  All  agree  in  stating  that  nearly  all  the  stations  on  the 
Black  Sea,  and  most  of  those  in  Mingrelia,  Imeritia,  and 
likewise  those  near  the  Caspian,  are  just  as  fatal  to  the 
Bussian  soldiers  as  Poti  is. 

"  I  am  aware  I  run  some  risk  of  repeating  that  which  may 
be  already  well  known,  but,  as  I  myself  was  astonished 
when  I  brought  the  pay  of  officers  and  men  of  the  Eussian 
army  into  English  currency,  I  do  not  think  I  can  err  very 
far  in  noticing  it  here.  These,  and  also  I  believe  the  civil 
servants  in  Georgia,  receive  double  the  pay  of  those  who 
are  in  Eussia.  The  silver  rouble  is  equal  to  four  francs. 

Silver 

Roubles.  £•  S.  a. 

A  Polkownik,  or  Colonel  (pay  annually)    750  or  123  6  8 

Pad  I'olkownik,  or  Lt.-Col.         „               700  or  116  13  4 

Major „               600  or  100  0  0 

Command  allowance  of  Colonel  and  Lieut.- 

Colonel      750  or  123  6  8 

Major 500  or  83  3  4 

Captain's  pay 425  or  70  16  8 

First  Surgeon's  pay         750  or  123  6  8 

Second          „           300  or  50    0  0 

"  While  the  Eussian  private  soldier's  rations  are  very 
bad,  he  only  receives  in  cash  three  copeks  per  day  (less 
than  a  halfpenny),  making  about  tenpence  a  month  in 
(ii-orgia,  and  half  that  sum  in  Eussia,  out  of  which  I  am 
told  he  is  put  under  stoppages  to  defray  the  expense  of  the 
baggage  bullocks  and  the  barber  kept  by  each  company. 

"  I  learned,  on  what  I  consider  the  best  possible  autho- 
rity, that,  a  calculation  being  made  by  official  people,  it  was 
found  that  51.  &s.  4d.  a  year  pays,  clothes,  feeds,  lodges, 
arms,  and  physics  a  Eussian  soldier. 

"  If  these  provinces  cost  Eussia  so  large  an  annual  ex- 
penditure in  men  as  that  here  referred  to,  it  is  no  less  true 
that  a  very  large  sum  in  cash  is  sent  to  Tiflis  from  Peters- 
burg, to  cover  their  yearly  expenditure.  This  sum  is  said 
never  yet  to  have  been  less  than  fifteen  millions  of  copper 


306 


TRIBES  OF  THE  CAUCASUS. 


NOTE  A. 


roubles  or  625,0007.  a"  year,  and  on  excellent  authority  I  was 
assured  that  last  year  1,050, 000  J.  were  sent. 

"  By  far  the  most  useful  troops  to  Russia  in  the  expedi- 
tions against  the  Circassians  are  the  contingent  from  Min- 
grelia,  Gooriel,  and  from  those  of  the  Caucasians  who  have 
been  forced  to  submit  to  Eussia. 

"  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  tribes  of  the 
Caucasian  mountaineers,  from  the  Caspian  to  the  Black  Sea, 
and  the  septs  or  clans  into  which  they  are  divided,  with  the 
numbers  of  each  tribe,  all  taken  from  an  official  Russian 
document  of  1833  and  1834 : — 


Chircasses, 

Abasekhs, 

Nagatai, 

Kabardians, 

Koomekee, 

Chechenses, 

Lesgees, 

Apkhazims, 

Swanetees, 

Osseteens, 


4  clans  or  divisions 
12 
2 
3 
2 

14 
36 

5 

3 
16 


Total  number  of  Caucasians    . 


"  The  same  document  states  that — 


501,000 

109,700 

16,000 

36,000 

38,000 

198,000 

530,282 

45,090 

25,000 

35,750 

1,535,623 


All  Georgia  proper,  including  Akhalsikh,  has  ..  337,143 

Armenia       164,631 

Imeritia         152,219 

Mingrelia      61,608 

Gooriel 31,067 


Total  Christians ..  746,608 

Mussulman  Provinces. 

Karabagh      101,520 

Sheki 98,508 

Sheerwau      124,602 

Talish S,!i'il> 

Kooba 95,198 

Bakoo 31,226 

Derbend        11,000 


Total 471,046 


Total  in  Georgia  and  Mussulman  Provinces     1,217,714 


NOTE  B.  AXCIENT  HISTORY  OF  ARMENIA.  307 

"  This  document  proves,  what  I  suspect  will  surprise 
many,  that  the  Caucasian  independent  tribes  who  wage 
continual  war  with  Eussia  very  considerably  outnumber  all 
the  subjects  of  the  Emperor  south  of  those  mountains. 

"  Besides  the  large  college  in  Tiflis,  Russia  has  estab- 
lished and  supports  eighteen  schools  south  of  the  Caucasus. 

"  She  obliges  the  Armenian  hierarchy  to  educate  the 
young  candidates  for  the  priesthood.  She  has  made  roads, 
such  as  they  are,  which  extend  in  almost  every  direction. 

"  Posts  regularly  traverse  the  country.  The  people  are 
becoming  accustomed  to  obedience  and  restraint.  Very 
many  natives,  Armenians  chiefly,  are  in  the  military  and 
civil  service." 


NOTE  (B.).    Page  67. 

THE  EUINED  CITY  OF  Axi. 

Ancient  history  of  Armenia  —  Excursion  to,  and  description  of,  Ani 
—  Account  of  the  fortress  of  Gumri  —  Advantage  of  the  war  to  the 
Turks  —  Oppression  of  Armenians  by  Mahommedans. 

THOUGH  situated  almost  on  the  high  road  between  Erze- 
room  and  Tiflis,  as  well  as  between  the  latter  city  and 
Tabreez,  few  travellers  take  the  trouble  of  stepping  aside 
from  the  beaten  track  to  view  this  ancient  capital  of  the 
Armenians,  for,  scattered  and  wandering  as  they  now  are 
over  the  face  of  the  earth,  like  Jews  and  gipsies,  the 
Armenians  once  had  a  capital.  They  pretend  that  their 
progenitor  Haik,  the  great-grandson  of  Japhet,  came  from 
the  land  of  Shinar  to  escape  from  the  tyranny  of  the 
Mighty  Hunter  before  the  Lord,  and  established  himself 
west  of  Van.  His  successors  transferred  the  residence  of 
the  Armenian  monarchs  to  the  banks  of  the  Arras,  where  it 
continued  fur  eighteen  centuries.  From  one  of  these,  named 
Aram,  distinguished  for  his  heroic  exploits,  is  derived  the 
appellation  by  which  the  tribe  is  now  known,  although 
not  recognised  by  the  Armenians  themselves,  who  adopt 
the  name  of  their  founder,  Haik.  Armenia  was  subdued 


308  AXCIEXT  HISTORY  OF  ARMENIA.  NOTE  B. 

by  Shameram  (Semiramis) ,  who  built  a  city  after  her  own 
name,  Shemiramgerd,  now  Van.  Subsequently  the  Arme- 
nian nation  aided  the  Medes  in  their  revolt  against 
Sardanapalus.  At  length  the  Macedonian  Alexander  ex- 
tinguished the  Armenian  monarchy,  of  which  the  dynasty 
of  Ha'ik  had  held  uninterrupted  possession  for  so  many 
centuries. 

The  Seleucidae  having  been  overthrown  by  the  Parthian 
invaders  of  Persia,  the  latter  established  in  that  country  a 
powerful  and  independent  race  of  Parthian  kings.  Arsaces 
the  Great,  grandson  of  the  founder  of  the  Parthian  empire 
of  the  same  name,  placed  his  brother  Valarsaces  on  the 
throne  of  Armenia  B.C.  150,  and  under  this  branch  of  the 
Arsacidae,  which  lasted  nearly  five  hundred  years,  the 
Armenians  attained  greater  prosperity,  and  reached  a  higher 
rank  in  the  scale  of  nations,  than  they  had  ever  before 
enjoyed.  The  whole  country  was  overrun  by  Antony 
B.C.  34,  in  his  Parthian  wars,  which  it  is  conjectured  led 
him  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Tabreez.  "When  the  Sassanees 
mounted  the  throne  of  Persia  in  226,  the  Romans  placed 
Tiridates  on  the  throne  of  Armenia,  and  then  it  was  that 
St.  Gregory,  a  descendant  of  the  Eoyal  Arsacidse,  converted 
the  king  and  his  court.  Armenia  was  rent  into  factions 
during  the  wars  of  the  Kornans  and  the  Sassanians,  till  at 
length,  near  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  these  two 
powers  made  a  formal  division  of  the  country.  The  fire- 
worshipping  Sassanians  spared  no  effort  to  convert  the 
Armenians  to  their  faith.  The  country  was  desolated  by 
Persian  armies,  but  persecution  and  torture  failed  to  over- 
throw Christianity  in  Armenia.  The  Magian  worship 
having  been  extinguished  by  the  followers  of  the  Koran,  for 
seventy  years  Armenia  was  the  field  of  contention  between 
the  Mussulmans  and  the  rival  power  of  Constantinople,  till 
at  length  the  supremacy  of  the  former  was  established. 
Not  long  afterwards,  by  a  strange  change  of  policy,  the 
caliphs  founded  a  dynasty  of  native  tributaiy  sovereigns, 
who  during  160  years  filled  the  throne  of  Armenia.  The 
noble  family  of  the  Pakradians,  of  very  ancient  Jewish 
descent,  was  the  source  from  which  these  monarchs  were 


NOTE  B.  AJSTCIEXT  HISTORY  OF  ARMENIA.  309 

derived.  Many  smaller  Pakradian  chiefs  formed  minor 
semi-independent  principalities ;  but  in  the  middle  of  the 
eleventh  century  the  Seljookee  Toorks  burst  into  Armenia 
headed  by  their  famous  chiefs  Toghrul  and  Alp  Arselan, 
marking  their  track  by  devastation  and  massacre. 

The  latter  monarch,  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  Seljookees, 
was  afterwards  slain  on  his  throne  by  an  assassin.  The 
murderer  advanced  towards  his  victim,  who,  confiding  in 
his  skill  as  an  archer,  refused  the  aid  of  his  guards.  He 
missed  his  aim  and  lost  his  life.  He  was  buried  in  the  city 
of  Merve,  to  the  north  of  Meshed,  towards  the  Oxus.  On 
his  tomb  were  inscribed  the  following  words,  dictated  by 
himself  shortly  before  his  death: — "Oh!  ye  who  have 
beheld  the  glory  of  Alp  Arselan  exalted  to  the  heavens, 
come  to  Merve,  and  you  will  see  it  buried  in  the  dust." 
Alp  Arselan  in  A.P.  1063  took  and  pillaged  Ani,  the  capital 
of  the  Pakradian  Armenian  kings,  with  such  slaughter  that 
the  streets  were  blocked  up  with  bodies.  Ani  then  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Koords,  from  whom  it  was  wrested  by  the 
kings  of  Georgia,  then  at  the  height  of  their  power.  This 
may  be  considered  the  termination  of  Armenian  inde- 
pendence and  separate  existence  in  this  part  of  Asia.  The 
Moghuls  and  Timour  completed  the  desolation  caused  by  the 
Seljookees.  The  population  of  Armenia  is  scanty,  but  the 
wonder  is  it  has  not  been  annihilated.  Its  geographical 
position  made  it  the  battle-field  of  innumerable  nations, 
beginning  with  the  Assyrians  and  ending  with  the  Russians. 
It  was  not  from  massacre  and  the  other  evils  of  war  alone 
that  Armenia  suffered.  The  conquerors  frequently  forced 
a  large  share  of  the  population  from  their  homes  :  thousands 
were  carried  to  Tartary  and  Egypt ;  but  the  chief  devas- 
tator was  Shah  Abbas  the  Great,  of  the  house  of  Seffi,  who, 
to  make  Armenia  an  intrenchment  against  Turkey,  con- 
verted it  into  a  desert.  The  inhabitants  were  collected  in 
the  plains  of  Ararat,  and  driven  like  cattle  across  the  Arras 
to  Ispahan  and  other  parts  of  Persia. 

The  tenacity  of  the  Armenian  character  under  all  their 
afflictions  excites  admiration.  Throughout  the  woes  which 
barbarism,  fanaticism,  and  violence  could  inflict  on  these 


310  EXCURSION  TO  ANI.  NOTE  B. 

devoted  Christians,  they  have  clung  unflinchingly  to  their 
religion  and  to  their  language.  The  same  language  is 
spoken  by  the  Armenians  throughout  the  world,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  those  attached  to  the  Church  of  Borne, 
they  all  maintain  the  same  dogmas  of  faith. 

Happening  in  the  year  1840  to  be  residing  at  Erzeroom, 
I  felt  a  strong  desire  to  see  the  last  remnant  of  Armenian 
regal  grandeur,  by  undertaking  an  excursion  to  Ani,  in 
company  with  my  friend  Dr.  Eiack,  of  Her  Majesty's  Mis- 
sion in  Persia.  \Yith  a  very  light  equipment  of  clothes 
and  bedding,  and  a  good  supply  of  tea  and  sugar,  that  best 
resource  where  hard  continued  riding  is  to  be  endured,  or 
heat  or  cold  to  be  borne,  we  set  forth  on  post-horses, 
attended  by  one  servant  each.  Wishing  for  variety  to 
make  a  circuit,  we  went  to  the  north-east  for  about  15  miles, 
and  crossed  a  small  rivulet  which  is  entitled  to  be  honoured 
with  the  name  of  Euphrates,  as  it  proceeds  from  some 
fountains  in  the  neighbourhood,  from  which  springs  one 
branch  of  that  river.  I  had  on  a  previous  occasion  seen 
these  fountains,  which  take  their  rise  in  a  small  basin  at 
the  summit  of  very  high  mountains.  There  are  several  of 
these  springs,  some  among  them  sending  forth  with  great 
violence  a  volume  of  water  nearly  a  foot  in  diameter  and 
three  or  four  feet  in  height.  Our  road  continued  over  high 
mountains  into  the  beautiful  valley  of  Tortoom,  through  the 
midst  of  which  runs  a  small  river  crowded  on  both  sides 
with  luxuriant  villages  surrounded  with  fruit-trees.  The 
valley  is  terminated  by  a  charming  lake  six  miles  long, 
encompassed  by  precipitous  mountains  which  reach  the 
water's  edge,  through  a  chasm  of  which  the  waters  of  the 
lake  find  an  exit  and  form  a  splendid  waterfall. 

From  Tortoom  we  turned  to  the  north,  our  road,  or 
rather  path,  still  continuing  over  high  mountains  diver- 
sified with  fertile  vales,  while  to  the  west  lay  still 
higher  and  more  rugged  mountains,  separating  us  from 
Batoum  and  the  Black  Sea.  "We  reached  the  town  of 
Oltee,  situated  in  a  beautiful  valley  of  the  same  name  :  over- 
hanging the  town  is  a  high  rock,  with  a  very  remarkable 
and  ancient-looking  castle  at  its  summit,  of  which  the  only 


NOTE  B.  DESCRIPTION  OF  ANI.  311 

thing  pretended  to  be  known  was,  that  it  had  been  erected 
by  the  Yenidik  or  the  Genevees ;  it  more  probably  was  the 
fastness  of  one  of  the  extinct  race  of  the  Delli  Beys,  who 
defied  the  Porte  in  the  days  of  its  weakness,  and  made 
plunder  their  occupation.  Another  day's  hard  riding 
brought  us  to  Kars,  twenty  miles  being  occupied  in  ascend- 
ing and  descending  very  high  mountains. 

This  is  a  poor  though  picturesque-looking  town,  contain- 
ing, it  is  said,  1500  families,  of  which  only  twenty  were 
Armenians,  the  Kussians  having  carried  off  no  less  than 
600  families  of  that  race  at  the  close  of  the  last  war.  The 
citadel  is  placed  on  a  high  steep  rock  which  completely 
overlooks  the  town,  but  the  whole  is  commanded  by  a  ridge 
of  hills  within  cannon-range  of  the  citadel.  It  was  here, 
we  were  told,  Prince  Paskewitch  erected  his  batteries  at  the 
capture  of  Kars  during  the  last  war.  On  the  next  occasion 
the  besiegers  found  this  ridge  occupied :  Sir  W.  Williams 
was  too  skilful  a  soldier  to  leave  so  important  a  post  to  the 
enemy.  He  fortified  the  ridge,  and  has  gained  a  name  and 
reputation  not  second  to  any  in  the  present  war. 

The  succeeding  day  we  rode  twenty-six  miles  over  an 
undulating  country  to  Ani. 

This  venerable  relic  is  situated  on  the  bank  of  a  small 
stream,  called  Arpa  Chaee,  or  Barley  Eiver,  which  separates 
Turkey  from  Russia.  On  approaching  the  ruins  we  were 
astonished  to  perceive  the  walls  in  as  perfect  a  state  as  if 
they  had  been  recently  erected.  These  walls  are  double, 
and  are  of  great  height  and  thickness,  with  enormous  towers 
at  close  intervals,  all  constructed  of  a  reddish  stone,  cut 
in  large  blocks  with  the  utmost  regularity,  and  closely 
cemented.  The  towers  are  round  and  may  be  sixty  feet 
in  height.  The  entire  structure,  both  walls  and  towers,  is 
in  such  excellent  preservation,  that  comparatively  little 
repair  or  expense  would  be  required  to  make  them  ser- 
viceable ;  1  have  seen  nothing  like  them  in  Turkey  or 
Persia.  We  observed  that  the  gates  of  the  two  walls  were 
not  built  opposite  to  each  other,  with  the  object  no  doubt  of 
exposing  an  assaulting  party  to  greater  loss  in  proceeding 
from  the  outer  to  the  inner  gate.  The  site  seems  to  have 


312  DESCRIPTION  OF  ANT.  NOTE  B. 

been  admirably  chosen  for  strength  and  purposes  of  defence. 
The  city  was  situated  on  a  tongue  of  land,  protected  on  the 
east  and  south  by  the  enormous  and  exceedingly  steep 
ravine  through  which  flows  the  Arpa  Chaee,  and  on  the 
west  by  another  ravine  of  similar  proportions,  which  joins 
the  above  stream.  These  ravines  may  be  40  yards  wide 
and  20  yards  deep.  The  north  is  the  only  side  exposed  to 
assault,  and  this  is  defended  in  the  manner  described : 
even  the  ravines  have  been  strengthened  by  a  strong  parapet, 
which  runs  the  whole  length  of  the  faces  towards  the  Arpa 
Chaee  and  the  ravine  to  the  west.  The  space  inside  the  walls 
must  have  been  very  confined,  and  could  not  have  admitted 
of  a  large  population.  Five  hundred  yards  was  the  length 
we  assigned  by  estimation  to  each  face  of  the  ravines : 
perhaps  this  was  the  royal  fortress,  and  that  the  mass  of  the 
population  resided  beyond  the  walls.  The  number  of  hil- 
locks outside  the  gates,  covering  perhaps  the  fragments  of 
a  city  now  lost  to  sight,  gives  colour  to  this  conjecture  ;  but 
if  it  were  thus,  what  a  vision  does  it  open  of  the  wealth 
and  power  of  the  Pakradian  monarchs,  who  could  erect  a 
fortress  of  such  dimensions  for  their  own  special  security. 

In  gazing  at  the  ponderous  walls  and  deep  ravines 
enveloping  Ani,  one  is  perplexed  in  reflecting  by  what  con- 
trivance could  a  horde  of  barbarians,  like  the  Seljookee 
Toorks  in  1060,  surmount  all  these  defences,  and  capture 
such  formidable  bulwarks.  Treason  or  famine  seems  the 
only  mode  of  opening  these  gates  in  the  then  state  of  the 
science  of  conducting  sieges. 

On  passing  the  gates  one  is  struck  with  awe  on  perceiv- 
ing that  the  city  does  not  contain  a  single  inhabitant.  All 
is  silence  and  desolation.  The  entire  space  is  covered  with 
hillocks,  by  which  the  former  habitations,  and  even  the  out- 
line of  the  streets,  could  in  many  places  be  traced.  At  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  enclosure  is  a  high  mound,  which 
is  called  the  citadel,  crowned  with  extensive  ruins.  A 
bridge  over  the  Arpa  Chaee,  of  which  the  remains  are  still 
in  existence,  connected  the  citadel  with  its  left  bank. 
Near  this  spot,  in  the  stream,  is  a  very  rugged  rock  on 
which  is  built  a  castle  called  "  Qiz  Qallasee,"  the  Maiden 


NOTE  B.  DESCRIPTION  OF  ANI.  313 

or  Maiden's  Castle,  a  name  almost  invariably  given  in 
Persia  to  all  castles  in  defiles  and  commanding  passes. 

Besides  the  citadel  the  ruins  consist  of  an  edifice  of  great 
size,  in  the  north-west  angle,  which  now  receives  the 
denomination  of  the  "  Palace."  There  are  also  two  high 
columns,  shaped  like  minarets,  but  of  great  size,  which  may 
have  been  towers  for  military  purposes.  Three  churches 
complete  the  remains  of  Ani.  All  these  buildings,  walls, 
citadels,  palace,  columns,  and  churches  are  made  of  the 
same  beautiful  reddish  stone,  intermixed  with  black,  which 
receives  a  fine  polish  and  produces  an  admirable  effect. 
Everything  is  constructed  in  the  most  substantial  and 
massive  manner  and  of  first-rate  masonry. 

The  churches  are  all  shaped  like  a  cross.  The  walls  of 
one  among  them  were  entirely  covered  with  scriptural 
pictures  in  fresco  of  rather  coarse  execution,  but  still 
tolerably  preserved,  excepting  the  heads,  of  which  no  doubt 
Mussulman  zeal  had  deprived  the  figures.  Time  and  the 
weather  had  been  kinder  than  man  at  Ani,  for  in  many 
parts  of  the  building  the  stucco  was  in  perfect  preservation, 
still  retaining  a  brilliant  gloss.  Vv'hile  we  were  surveying 
the  ruins,  many  workmen  were  employed  in  removing  the 
pillars  and  large  black  stones  belonging  to  the  inside  of 
these  melancholy  tabernacles,  to  form  stoves  for  the  Pasha 
of  Kars ;  these  were  the  only  living  beings  in  Ani. 
Another  church  of  considerable  dimensions  was  remarkable 
for  being  perfectly  plain  and  simple,  and  therefore  infinitely 
more  pleasing  than  the  ornament  and  tawdriness  of  the 
adjoining  sacred  edifices. 

The  reputation  of  the  grandeur  of  this  extinct  city  still 
survives ;  our  guide  said  it  contained  one  thousand  churches, 
and  a  similar  number  of  lamp-oil  manufacturers.  The 
adjoining  country  is  remarkably  sterile  in  its  aspect,  there- 
being  no  trees  within  view.  The  sides  of  the  immense 
ravine  on  the  west  side  of  the  town  are  covered  with  exca- 
vations, which  form  small  apartments,  and  which  were 
evidently  used  as  dwellings  or  as  shops.  At  this  moment 
one  of  these  cavities  is  designated  as  the  barber's  shop, 

p 


314  FOETEESS  OF  GUMEI.  NOTE  B. 

another  the  baker's,  &c. ;  shelves  and  takches  (a  shelf  cut 
in  a  wall)  are  visible  in  many  of  these  recesses,  which  are 
now  used  by  the  Koords  as  dwellings  in  winter.  The  bed 
of  this  immense  ravine  is  at  this  day  called  the  Charsoo,  a 
Persian  word  signifying  market-place. 

The  impression  left  on  us  by  these  ruins  was  a  doubt  that 
they  could  date  as  far  back  as  800  years,  and  a  persuasion 
that  the  devastation  or  abandonment  of  the  city  must  have 
taken  place  at  a  later  period  than  the  reign  of  Alp  Arselan. 
I  think  I  have  read  somewhere  that  the  ruin  of  Ani  dates 
from  a  much  later  period. 

Another  reflection  which  suggested  itself  to  us  was,  that, 
as  Gumri  or  Alexandropol  was  a  formidable  rampart  to 
Tiflis,  and  an  excellent  base  of  operations  against  Erzeroom, 
so  Ani  might  be  converted  into  a  corresponding  offensive 
and  defensive  position  for  Turkey.  These  two  cities  are 
close  to  each  other ;  they  are  situated  on  the  same  river 
and  similarly  protected  by  immense  ravines,  and  Ani  has 
the  further  advantage  of  having  massive  walls  ready  made. 
With  so  many  appliances  at  hand,  the  expense  of  converting 
this  abandoned  city  into  a  fortification  of  great  strength 
ought  not  to  be  heavy. 

A  short  account  of  the  important  fortress  of  Guinri,  as  it 
existed  sixteen  years  ago,  since  which  period  it  has  no 
doubt  undergone  great  extension  and  improvement,  will 
not  be  inappropriate  here.  I  had  myself  seen  it  on  a  pre- 
vious journey,  though  only  for  a  short  time,  and  further 
information  was  obtained  from  a  trustworthy  source. 

Alexandropol,  or  Gumri,  was  evidently  designed  to  be 
to  Asiatic  Turkey  what  Cronstadt  is  to  the  Baltic,  or  Sebas- 
topol  was  to  Constantinople  and  the  Black  Sea.  It  appears 
to  be  systematic  with  the  Kussian  government  to  construct 
a  formidable  fortress  at  each  of  its  remote  frontiers,  for 
whose  subjugation  time,  labour,  and  an  immense  army  are 
requisite.  The  Turkish  government  ought  to"'follow  the 
same  rule  ;  and  if  Ani  should  be  found  unsuited  for  that 
purpose,  Kars  itself  might  perhaps  be  convertible  into  a 
fortress  which  would  defy  the  efforts  of  Eussia.  We  too 


NOTEB.  FORTRESS  OF  GUMRI.  315 

might  take  a  liint  from  the  same  source,  and  the  western 
extremities  of  our  eastern  dominions  should  present  similar 
obstacles  to  an  intruder. 

Gumri  is  distant  twenty  or  twenty-five  miles  from  Ears. 
It  is  a  bustling  little  town,  which  in  1832  contained  only 
sixty  habitations,  but  which  in  1838  had  increased  to  1200 
houses.  The  fortress  is  situated  on  a  plateau,  elevated  100 
feet  above  the  surrounding  country.  It  is  distant  about  a  mile 
from  the  Arpa  Chaee,  the  small  stream  dividing  Russia  from 
Turkey,  and  running  north  and  south,  which  may  be  consi- 
dered the  ditch  of  the  western  face  of  the  fortress,  the  space 
intervening  between  the  latter  and  the  river  being  100  feet 
lower.  The  eastern  face  was  guarded  in  a  similar  way  by  a 
ravine  100  feet  deep  and  150  feet  in  width,  at  the  bottom  of 
which  runs  a  rivulet.  The  fortress  is  about  a  mile  in  length 
from  north  to  south,  and  about  half  a  mile  in  breadth.  It 
was  intended  in  1838  to  connect  the  above  two  faces  by  a 
great  ditch  on  the  northern  side ;  but  it  was  not  known  if 
the  southern  face  was  to  be  defended  in  a  similar  manner. 
The  ground  in  this  direction  is  rugged ;  and  the  southern 
front  was  protected  by  a  bomb-proof  casemated  battery 
mounting  sixteen  guns,  constructed  of  dark  soft  volcanic 
rock,  which  hardens  on  exposure  to  the  air.  It  was  said 
to  be  intended  to  surround  the  whole  of  the  plateau  on 
which  the  fortress  stands  with  a  rampart  fifteen  feet  high 
and  twenty  feet  in  thickness.  Part  of  this  rampart  was 
already  constructed.  In  addition  to  these  works  it  was  in 
contemplation  to  construct  a  citadel  in  the  centre  of  the 
plateau  of  the  same  materials  as  the  casemated  battery, 
with  extensive  bomb-proof  barracks.  Preposterously 
enough,  the  large  timber  required  for  the  works  was 
brought  from  Turkey.  This  was  in  1838,  at  which  time 
2000  men  were  daily  employed  on  the  works,  which  it  was 
conjectured  would  require  seven  years  for  completion. 

Such  was  the  state,  sixteen  years  ago,  of  the  formidable 
bulwark  prepared  by  Russia  for  the  defence  of  her  Georgian 
dominions.  We  may  feel  an  assurance  that  at  this  moment 
these  fortifications  are  of  a  nature  which  no  effort  of  Tur- 
key could  disturb. 

p  2 


316  RETURN  TO  ERZEROOM.        NOTE  B' 

To  return  to  Erzerooin  we  changed  our  route  and  pro- 
ceeded by  the  pass  of  Changeneh.  We  forded  the  x\ras  long 
after  dark,  and  found  it  wide,  rapid,  and  deep.  Crossing  a 
river  under  such  circumstances  is  a  very  disagreeable  pro- 
cess, unless  the  head  and  stomach  are  in  good  order,  as  one 
is  apt  to  fancy  that  instead  of  crossing  the  stream  one  is 
passing  down  with  the  current.  We  then  reached  the 
flourishing  town  of  Kaghezman.  I  never  beheld  orchards 
at  all  comparable  with  those  of  Kaghezman,  which  really 
bear  more  resemblance  to  forests  than  to  anything  else. 
Hitherto  we  had  been  domiciled  with  Armenians,  who 
almost  invariably  are  the  scapegoats  for  travellers  in 
Turkey ;  we  were  now  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  Turk  well 
to  do  in  the  world,  who  looked  in  no  small  degree  per- 
plexed and  out  of  humour  when  he  saw  two  Giours  take 
possession  of  his  best  apartment. 

This  war  will  do  the  Turks,  above  all  the  provincial 
Turks,  service  in  more  respects  than  saving  their  country. 
It  will  teach  them  what  they  did  not  know  before, — that 
there  are  better  men  and  braver  soldiers  in  the  world  than 
themselves.  A  Turk  has  many  valuable  qualities,  but  his 
intolerable  pride,  self-sufficiency,  and  conceit  relative  to 
his  religion,  himself,  and  his  nationality,  render  him  offen- 
sive, unendurable,  and  almost  useless.  The  rough  rubbing 
of  shoulders  he  is  now  going  through  will  leave  him  a 
wiser,  more  reasonable,  and  a  better  man. 

I  was  confirmed  by  this  trip  in  an  observation  I  have 
before  made.  The  Armenian  towns  and  villages  require 
to  be  protected  from  Mahommedan  travellers,  particularly 
from  such  as  are  in  the  employment  of  Government.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  much  oppression  is  inflicted  on  these 
occasions,  and  this  is  one  of  the  points  to  which  the  atten- 
tion of  those  persons  seeking  to  promote  the  prosperity  of 
the  Ottoman  empire  ought  to  be  directed. 


NOTE  C.  "EELS."  317 

NOTE  (C.).    Page  101. 
THE  KOOBDS  AND  KOORDISTAN. 

"  Eels  "  —  Sheghaghee  battalion  —  Estimation  of  English  officers  — 
Inhospitality  —  Misconduct  and  punishment  of  native  officers  —  Fac- 
tion fights  —  Niametees  and  Hyderees  —  Mode  of  fighting  —  An 
odd  petition  —  Ardebil :  the  governor's  son  —  Drunkenness  — 
Shrine  of  Shah  Ismael  —  Marble-pits  —  Maragha  —  A  Persian  gentle- 
man —  Quail-hawking  —  The  Koords  —  Koordistan  mountains  — 
The  Afshars  —  March  in  pursuit  of  plunderers  —  Koordish  cavalry 
—  Death  of  a  colonel  —  Character  of  Persians  —  Drinking-bouts  — 
Anecdotes  illustrative  of  Persian  character  and  manners. 

IN  1833  I  proceeded  from  India  to  Persia  as  second  in  com- 
mand of  a  detachment  of  officers  and  Serjeants  sent  by  the 
government  of  the  former  empire  for  the  drill  and  discipline 
of  the  Shah's  army,  or  rather  of  that  portion  of  it  formed 
from  the  natives  of  Azerbijan.  Shortly  after  our  arrival  in 
Tabreez  we  accompanied  the  new  King,  Mahommed  Shah, 
to  Tehran  to  assist  in  placing  him  on  the  throne,  the  pos-  , 
session  of  which  was  disputed  by  two  of  his  uncles.  This 
having  been  accomplished,  the  officers  of  the  detachment 
were  dispersed  over  various  parts  of  Persia.  I,  with  two 
Serjeants,  was  sent  to  Azerbijan  to  "  drill  and  discipline  "  a 
battalion  of  recruits,  amounting  to  about  600  men,  of  the 
tribe  of  Sheghaghee. 

The  tribes  in  Persia  are  called  eels — a  Turkish  word  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  sedentary  part  of  the  community, 
not  linked  together  by  the  bonds  of  clanship.  Some  of  the 
eels  are  wanderers,  who  with  their  families  and  flocks  change 
their  quarters  each  summer  and  winter,  in  search  of  pasture, 
to  grcmnds  more  or  less  distant  belonging  to  the  tribe,  and 
which  cannot  be  encroached  on  by  other  clans.  Other 
eels,  who  once  no  doubt  were  wanderers,  have  become 
sedentary,  and  have  devoted  themselves  to  agriculture,  but 
still  preserving  their  union  as  tribe-men.  An  eel  is  ruled 
by  its  oojak,  or  chief,  and  by  its  dooshmals,  or  heads  of  the 
different  teerehs  or  branches  into  which  it  is  divided. 

The  Sheghaghces  use  two  languages  indifferently,  Turkish 
and  their  own  Lekee,  a  dialect  of  Persian. 


318  SHEGHAGHEE  RECRUITS.  NOTE  C. 

The  spot  fixed  on  for  raising  this  new  battalion  was 
Serab,  a  fine  valley  lying  between  Tabreez  and  Ardebil, 
and  seventy  miles  from  the  former  city.  At  the  desire  of  the 
Ameer  Nizam,  or  commander-in-chief,  who  was  also  viseer 
of  the  province  of  Azerbijan,  I  proceeded  to  this  spot, 
accompanied  by  Bala  Khan,  an  old  soldier  and  major, 
who  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  service  against  the  Bussians. 
The  Sheghaghees  had  already  furnished  from  their  tribe 
two  battalions,  which  were  regarded,  as  the  Shah  himself 
told  me  one  day,  on  the  march  to  Tehran  from  Tabreez,  as 
the  best  in  his  service.  His  Majesty  might  have  added  to 
this  encomium,  what  he  once  said  to  a  foreign  minister  who 
had  praised  the  appearance  of  some  regiments  at  Tehran — 
"  Yes,"  said  the  King,  with  the  loud  laugh  he  loved  to 
indulge  in,  "  they  are  excellent;  and  better  still,  they  have 
been  three  years  without  a  fraction  of  pay,  and  they  never 
ask  me  for  arrears."  They  certainly  were  stout,  stalwart, 
active  fellows — but  so  are  nearly  all  Persian  soldiers.  The 
Sheghaghees  had  some  claim  on  the  Shah's  gratitude.  They 
happened  to  be  returning  from  Khorassan  when  the  King 
died.  The  pretender  to  the  throne,  on  their  reaching  Teh- 
ran, sent  out  his  son  with  a  large  sum  of  money  to  bribe 
them  to  enter  his  sendee.  They  took  the  money,  and 
marched  off  next  morning,  sending  notice  to  the  real  Shah 
that  they  were  ready  to  join  him.  I  find  the  following 
remark  in  my  note-book :  "  The  poor  fellows  are  four  or  five 
years  in  arrears  of  pay." 

Several  of  the  old  officers  of  these  regiments  came  to  see 
me  on  my  arrival  at  Serab.  They  spoke  in  the  most  enthu- 
siastic manner  of  Captain  Christie,  an  English  officer  by 
whom  the  regiment  had  been  raised,  and  who  many  years 
ago  had  been  killed  fighting  against  the  Eussians  at  the 
battle  of  Aslandooz. 

As  an  example  of  the  estimation  in  which  English  officers 
;ire  held  in  those  wild  districts,  I  may  mention  that  once, 
while  still  attached  to  the  Persian  army,  I  was  travelling, 
and  reached  a  solitary  village,  in  the  midst  of  a  large  plain, 
at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  in  late  autumn.  The  villagers  were 
most  inhospitable,  and  refused  to  receive  me,  saying  that 


NOTE  C  IXHOSPITALITY.  319 

there  was  nothing  to  eat,  that  the  village  was  full  of  plague, 
cholera,  and  what  not.  The  prospect  of  a  supperless  night 
in  the  midst  of  a  plain,  in  an  Azerbijan  autumn,  was  rather 
uncomfortable,  when  fortunately  one  of  my  servants  dis- 
covered that  the  village  was  chiefly  composed  of  artillery- 
men who  had  left  the  service.  I  now  felt  tolerably  certain 
of  supper,  and  I  pounced  at  once  on  the  artillerymen.  I 
told  them  they  were  a  low,  base-born  set  of  fellows,  dogs 
and  sons  of  dogs,  without  faith  and  without  honour.  Who, 
I  said,  half  in  Turkish,  half  in  Persian — not  knowing  the 
former  language  well  —  who  made  you  soldiers?  Who 
taught  you  to  fight  the  Russians  ?  Who  got  you  your  pay  ? 
Who  got  you  your  rations  ?  Was  it  not  the  English  ?  How 
then  dare  you  to  treat  an  English  officer  in  this  way  ?  I  could 
hear  them  saying,  "  AVallah,  doghroo  dir  !"  (By  the  Lord  ! 
it  is  true.)  And  they  finished  by  asking  pardon,  protesting 
they  were  wrong.  One  among  them  took  me  to  his  house,  and 
led  the  way  to  a  large  comfortable  room,  with  an  excellent 
fire,  and  filled  with  his  female  relations,  wife,  sisters,  &c., 
where  he  said  I  was  to  pass  the  night,  and  that  he  would 
get  supper  ready  without  delay.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  as  for 
your  servants,  the  sons  of  dogs,  they  may  go  to  hell,  but 
they  shall  not  come  here  near  my  wife  and  children — but 
you  are  welcome."  These  sons  of  dogs  were  Persians  and 
Mussulmans  like  himself,  and  were  left  to  shift  as  they 
could  ;  while  the  Englishman,  Kafir  as  he  was,  was  made  a 
cherished  guest.  The  whole  party  at  length  found  accom- 
modation elsewhere,  as  I  refused  to  place  the  family  to  the 
inconvenience  caused  by  my  presence. 

The  only  other  instance  of  downright  inhospitality  I  ever 
encountered  was  under  circumstances  exactly  similar,  while 
still  in  the  army,  and  therefore  travelling  in  somewhat 
humble  array.  I  arrived  late  at  night  at  a  village,  where 
quarters  were  peremptorily  refused.  Finding  remonstrance 
and  good  humour  unavailing,  I  dismounted  from  my  horse, 
and,  looking  about  in  the  dark  as  well  as  I  could  for  a  good 
house,  selected  one  which,  for  a  village  habitation,  was 
rather  inviting.  On  entering  the  best  chamber,  I  saw 
seated  at  a  fire  a  young  and  very  well-looking  woman  of 


320  THE  SHEGHAGHEES.  NOTE  C. 

twenty,  \vlio  seemed  by  no  means  abashed  by  my  presence. 
She  addressed  me  in  Turkish,  and  bantered  me  with  great 
good  humour  for  occupying  her  house  without  leave.  At 
this  moment  a  stout  young  man  came  into  the  room  with 
a  sabre  in  his  hand,  and,  looking  very  fierce,  demanded 
why  I  entered  his  house.  I  felt  very  uncomfortable, 
knowing  it  to  be  a  critical  moment ;  so  I  walked  straight 
up  to  him,  and  bringing  forward  the  hilt  of  my  sword 
with  my  left  hand,  whilst  with  the  other  I  threw  open 
the  front  of  my  coat  to  rejoice  his  eyes  with  the  sight 
of  a  double-barrelled  pistol  in  my  belt,  said — "Are  you 
mad  ?  Have  you  lost  your  senses  ?  Why  don't  you  send 
your  wife  away  ?  Don't  you  see  that  I  intend  to  remain 
here  to-night?  Is  this  the  way  you  behave  to  an  English 
officer  ?"  He  seemed  irresolute  for  a  moment,  but  at  length 
growled  a  reluctant  assent.  Five  shillings  in  the  morning 
made  him  full  of  gratitude. 

I  had  a  troublesome  time  with  my  recruits,  especially  in 
the  beginning.  The  Sheghaghees  have  the  reputation  of 
being  a  wild  and  rather  lawless  tribe,  yet  I  found  these 
young  soldiers  very  tractable.  Among  my  notes  of  those 
days  I  remark  the  following  observations,  which  will  show 
their  condition  : — "  These  poor  fellows  the  serbaz  (soldiers) 
are  much  to  be  pitied ;  they  get  no  pay  and  only  plain  bread 
for  food.  They  are  half  naked,  and  a  great  part  of  them  are 
without  shoes.  Many  among  them  do  not  come  to  parade, 
and  when  I  discover  the  malingerers  I  punish  them  much 
against  my  will,  but,  if  I  did  not,  I  should  have  the  parade 
to  myself.  They  are  submissive,  but  not  alert  in  obeying 
orders,  unless  such  as  require  execution  on  the  spot." 

With  all  their  reputed  turbulence,  these  young  soldiers 
displayed  a  great  deal  of  patience.  Notwithstanding  their 
short  commons,  they  bore  the  incessant  drilling,  for  our  time 
was  limited,  with  great  submission.  Outrage,  excepting  on 
one  or  two  remarkable  occasions,  was  rare,  and  they  endured 
punishment  without  murmuring.  All  this  aptitude  for  a 
soldier's  life  was  exhibited  under  the  peculiar  and  trying 
circumstances  of  all  the  captains  and  lieutenants  being 
youths  of  eighteen  and  recruits,  like  the  rest  of  the  regi- 


NOTE  C.  PUNISHMENT  OF  OFFICERS.  321 

ment.  They  were  the  Bey  Zadeh,  Dhuihne  wassels,  the 
gentlemen  of  the  tribe,  their  fathers  being  small  chiefs. 
Yet  with  all  these  disadvantages  so  intelligent  are  Persians, 
that  the  battalion  was  soon  able  to  manoeuvre  very  passably. 
My  great  difficulty  was  the  presence  of  two  youthful 
lietit. -colonels  belonging  to  different  and  rival  branches 
of  the  tribe,  each  of  whom  pretended  to  the  chief  autho- 
rity, each  being  supported  by  his  own  sept.  To  these  was 
added  an  intriguing  veteran  major,  who  actually  invited  part 
of  the  regiment  to  pelt  with  stones  one  of  the  rival  colonels. 
A  general  conflict  followed,  in  which,  in  endeavouring 
to  keep  the  peace  and  part  the  combatants,  I  was  near 
being  a  sufferer  amid  the  showers  of  stones  which  flew 
on  all  sides.  A  few  days'  interval  brought  to  Serab  the 
Ameer  e  Nizam,  a  most  excellent  but  weak  man,  whose 
first  act  was  to  put  the  intriguing  major's  feet  into  the 
fellak  and  flog  him  until  he  became  insensible.  Eemon- 
strance  with  his  Excellency  on  this  mode  of  treating  an 
officer  produced  from  him  a  rejoinder  that  I  knew  nothing 
of  Persians,  and  that  I  should  learn  in  a  short  time  that  a 
Persian  officer  was  not  altogether  the  same  as  an  English 
officer.  "  Did  you  ever  see,"  asked  the  Ameer,  "an  English 
major  incite  the  soldiers  to  pelt  the  lieutenant-colonel  ?  If 
I  did  not  act  in  this  way  I  should  soon  be  pelted  myself." 
Such  was  the  position  of  English  officers  in  Persia  twenty 
years  ago.  With  no  power  excepting  that  of  the  lash,  and 
such  authority  as  from  personal  character  they  could  acquire 
for  themselves — no  control  over  the  pay  or  rations,  which 
were  always  embezzled,  or  over  promotion,  which  was 
always  bestowed  from  corrupt  motives — it  is  not  surprising 
they  did  not  effect  more  than  was  done.  If  they  could  not 
enable  the  Persian  troops  to  contend  successfully  with  the 
regular  troops  of  other  nations,  they  at  all  events  gave  the 
Persian  artillery  and  infantry  the  means  of  beating  an 
unlimited  number  of  Afghans,  Koords,  and  Toorkomans, 
or  irregular  Persian  troops. 

A  farther  extract  from  my  note-book  of  those  days  may 
have  some  interest,  by  illustrating  the  condition  of  the  Per- 
sian army,  as  well  as  the  manners  of  that  country : — 

p  3 


322  FACTION  FIGHTS.  NOTE  C. 

"April,  1835. — I  have  come  to  this  village,  Aspistan,  hi 
consequence  of  the  Ameer's  arrival  close  to  it.  The  new 
battalion  joined  him  here,  as  well  as  some  men  of  the  old 
battalions  of  the  Sheghaghee  regiments.  Close  to  his  tent 
a  fight  took  place  between  two  parties  of  the  same  corps. 
The  Ameer  sallied  out  in  a  tremendous  rage;  he  beat  the 
adjutant  of  the  old  battalion  in  a  dreadful  way,  and  even 
used  his  own  stick  most  vigorously.  He  then  tied  up  two 
majors  of  the  new  battalion  to  the  fellak,  and  gave  them  a 
terrible  thrashing.  He  abused  the  majors  in  genuine  Per- 
sian, not  describable  in  English,  and  poured  the  vials  of  his 
wrath  without  mercy  on  their  wives,  sisters,  and  daughters, 
in  choice  idiom  ;  to  all  which  the  others  made  no  other  reply 
than  that  they  were  the  Ameer's  dogs.  He  then  ordered 
their  tents  to  be  cut  down  as  a  mark  of  disgrace.  I  hear 
that  to-morrow  he  will  give  them  all  dresses  of  honour,  that 
being  the  Persian  mode  of  expressing  forgiveness." 

During  my  abode  among  the  Sheghaghees  an  occurrence 
took  place  so  intimately  connected  with  the  religious  sen- 
timents of  the  Persians  that  this  seems  to  be  the  proper 
time  to  describe  it. 

"  Serab,  April  7th,  Moharrem,  1835. — To-day  I  went  with 

B ,  who  had  come  to  see  me  from  Tabreez,  to  bathe  in 

the  warm  baths  of  the  Booz-koosh,  a  scraggy  range  of 
mountains,  bearing  the  odd  name  of  Goatkiller.  On  our 
return  we  found  the  town  in  an  uproar.  Two  parties, 
formed  from  the  two  parishes,  were  drawn  up,  at  thirty 
yards  distance,  and  were  pelting  each  other  most  lustily 
with  enormous  stones  thrown  by  hand  and  by  slings. 
These  last  were  not  very  efficient  weapons,  for  during  the 
half-hour  we  stood  looking  at  them  the  hits  were  very  few. 
The  wonder  was,  that,  like  the  two  pugnacious  cats  of 
Kilkenny  renown,  they  were  not  all  killed." 

Moharrem  is  the  month  of  which  ten  days  are  appro- 
priated annually  to  solemnise  the  slaughter  of  Hoossein, 
the  son  of  Fatma,  daughter  of  Mahommed.  This  observ- 
ance has  divided  all  Persia  into  two  names,  for  they  are  not 
sects,  their  opinions,  belief,  and  religious  practices  being 
identical.  They  bear  some  analog}'  with  the  factions  of  Ire- 


XOTE  C.  XIAMETEES  AND  HYDEREES.  323 

land,  the  Caravats  and  Shanavesths  of  Tipperary.  Their 
names  are  Niametee  and  Hyderee,  and  it  is  strange  that  even 
well-informed  people  can  give  no  explanation  of  the  original 
causes  of  this  institution,  which,  like  everything  doubtful  or 
obscure  in  Persia,  is  referred  to  the  time  of  Shah  Abbas, 
three  hundred  years  ago.  During  the  ten  days'  duration  of 
the  solemnity,  the  mutual  hatred  of  the  two  names  is  invete- 
rate, and  the  concluding  day,  Rooz  e  katl,  seldom  passes 
without  a  fight  in  every  city  and  town  of  Persia.  After^this 
everything  returns  to  its  former  condition,  animosity  ceases, 
and  intercourse  is  resumed  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Lo- 
cality determines  whether  one  is  a  Hyderee  or  a  Niametee. 
and  a  change  of  mahalla,  quarter,  or  parish,  produces  a 
change  of  party.  Thus  I  find  I  am  a  Niametee,  while  my 
two  sergeants  are  Hyderees. 

During  the  night,  while  the  solemnity  lasts,  the  people 
attend  in  their  own  parishes,  and,  forming  themselves  into 
circles,  go  round  in  measured  time,  beating  their  breasts, 
and  exclaiming  ' '  Ya  Hassan  (another  grandson  of  Mahom- 
nied),  Ya  Hoossein  !  "  with  extraordinary  enthusiasm.  As 
long  as  each  party  continues  in  its  own  parish  all  is  peace- 
able ;  but  should  any  one  overstep  the  border,  and  shout 
"  Shahsye !  "  said  to  be  a  corruption  of  Shah  Hoossein,  it 
is  considered  a  challenge  and  the  fight  begins. 

The  eels  or  eelyats  do  not  celebrate  the  Moharrem  in 
this  absurd  manner,  consequently  the  Sheghaghee  regiment 
has  taken  no  share  in  the  fray.  The  quarrels  of  the  eels 
arise  from  other  causes.  A  young  man  runs  away  with  a 
girl ;  or  a  sheep,  a  cow,  or  camel  is  stolen  :  or  a  stream  of 
water  is  trimed — the  most  fertile  source  of  broils  in  Persia ; 
and  then  follows  a  row,  often  a  regular  fight. 

In  the  evening  I  wrote  to  NejefF  Koolee  Khan,  chief 
magistrate  of  the  town,  and  head  of  the  Hyderees,  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  interfere  and  prevent  a  tumult,  possibly 
murder.  He  wrote  in  answer  a  most  humble  letter,  assur- 
ing me  that  I  was  not  acquainted  with  the  villanies  of  the 
Niametees. 

8th  Moliarrem. — This  morning  Bala  Khan,  Meer  Sedr-ud- 
deen,  Meerza  liumezan,  Meerza  Ghaffur,  and  a  number  of 


324  FACTION  FIGHTS.  NOTE  C. 

inferior  people,  called  on  me  to  devise  means  for  preserving 
the  peace.  They  were  evidently  in  great  alarm,  and  said 
that  they  looked  to  me  to  prevent  violence,  as  the  Hyderees 
had  called  in  aid  from  the  surrounding  villages  by  orders 
of  Xejeff  Koolee  Khan,  and  had  sworn  vengeance  against 
the  Xiametees  to-day.  I  told  them  all  I  could  do  was  to 
offer  advice,  to  which  no  one  seemed  disposed  to  listen. 
My  Turkish  teacher  from  Tabreez  was  in  a  great  fright, 
and  proposed  that  we  should  mount  our  horses,  and  take  an 
excursion  into  the  country;  for,  said  he,  "  I  perceive  there 
will  be  a  row,  and  they  may  perhaps  attack  us." 

Before  noon  the  Hyderees  assembled  in  great  force  on 
their  own  ground  and  on  the  tops  of  the  houses,  where  they 
shouted,  and  bellowed,  and  abused,  without  cessation  or 
compunction,  the  mothers  and  wives  of  the  Xiametees,  who 
remained  quiet  and  silent  in  their  houses.  Encouraged 
by  this,  the  Hyderees  advanced  and  took  possession  of  a 
Xiatnetee  mosque,  and  a  detachment  advanced  over  the 
tops  of  the  houses  to  where  I  was  living,  and  began  slinging 
stones  into  my  courtyard.  "  Kiupek  Oghleeler,  you  sons 
of  dogs  ! "  shouted  my  ferocious  cook,  Gool  Mahommed ; 
"  how  dare  you  insult  an  English  gentleman  ?"  "  Bilma- 
diq  Wallah — We  did  not  know  it,"  was  the  submissive 
reply  as  they  retired. 

9th  Moharrem. — This  morning  early  Xejeff  Koolee  Khan, 
Bala  Khan,  and  several  other  people  of  both  parties,  called  on 
me.  Ismael  Khan  and  Imam  Koolee  Khan,  two  chiefs  from 
the  neighbouring  villages,  and  both  Xiarnetees,  having  heard 
of  the  jeopardy  of  their  faction  yesterday,  had  come  to  their 
assistance  with  their  followers.  The  Hajee  was  an  aq 
seqqal,  or  white-beard ;  the  other  was  a  stout,  wild,  and 
ferocious-looking  fellow.  Each  party  tried  to  impress  me 
with  the  opinion  that  they  were  very  pacific,  and  that  the 
other  party  alone  was  to  blame.  After  much  talking  they 
took  leave,  and  soon  after  we  heard  loud  yells  of  Shakhsye. 
We  went  out,  and  saw  a  body  of  200  or  300  men,  advancing 
over  the  plain,  on  seeing  whom  the  Xiametees  went  out  to 
Lstikbald,  and  ushered  them  into  the  town  with  shouts  and 
antics,  standards,  and  flags  flying.  Each  man  had  a  large 


NOTE  C.  FACTION  FIGHTS.  325 

stick,  and  a  piece  of  carpet  or  old  coat  to  keep  off  the 
stones.  With  yells  and  screams  they  took  post  near  the 
mosque,  in  line  of  battle  opposite  to  the  Hyderees,  who 
mustered  strong,  but  seemed  depressed.  The  latter  got 
ready  for  action  by  taking  oif  their  coats,  and  wrapping 
them  round  their  left  arms.  Both  parties  now  shouted  and 
yelled,  and  fast  and  furious  flew  from  side  to  side  epithets 
which  it  is  needless  to  transcribe.  They  defied  each  other 
by  dancing  a  figure  meant  for  a  challenge.  They  threw 
their  caps  in  the  air,  flinging  their  sticks  after  them,  and 
then  took  a  leap  with  a  yell.  I  thought  for  a  moment  I  had 
thrown  off  a  dozen  years  of  life,  and  that  once  more  I 
was  standing  in  a  glen  of  the  Galtees ;  but  I  soon  awoke 
from  my  dream,  for  the  accents  were  not  those  of  Tipperary, 
but  of  Alp  Arselan,  Chengeez,  and  Timour.  At  last  the  fight 
began  in  earnest,  and  we  had  a  good  view  from  the  top  of 
a  house.  After  some  time  two  Niametees  were  carried  off 
badly  wounded ;  a  Hyderee  was  knocked  down,  and  a  party 
rushed  at  him  to  kill  him,  but  the  intercession  of  Meer 
Sedr-ood-deen  saved  his  life.  After  an  uproar  and  fight  of 
two  hours  a  Niametee  got  a  blow  on  the  head  from  a  stone, 
which  knocked  him  dead.  Nevertheless  the  Niametees 
gained  the  day,  for  they  drove  back  the  Hyderees  to  the 
bazar,  which  they  sacked,  as  being  chiefly  filled  with  the 
property  of  that  obnoxious  party.  Each  side  seemed  to 
muster  about  400  men.  They  fought  in  detached  squads, 
very  much  after  the  fashion  of  Persian  cavalry  and  Persian 
dogs.*  When  one  party  made  an  advance  the  other  retired, 


*  It  is  highly  amusing  to  witness  a  combat  between  two  parties  of 
the  numerous  dogs  residing  near  the  slaughterhouses  outside  the  walls 
of  a  Persian  city.  They  live  in  communities  of  40  or  50  in  a  pack,  80 
or  100  yards  distant  from  each  other.  Some  fresh  offal  brings  on  a 
feud.  Four  or  five  dogs  rush  out  as  if  to  assault  the  opposite  party, 
but  gradually  diminishing  the  pace  as  they  approach.  Seeing  this 
slackness,  six  or  eight  of  the  enemy  sally  forth,  the  former  retreat  at 
full  speed,  and  the  same  takes  place  on  the  other  side,  and  so  on  back- 
wards and  forwards  without  ever  coming  to  close  quarters,  the  non- 
combatants  howling  and  yelling  furiously  all  the  time.  The  Koords 
fight  in  exactly  the  same  manner  ;  at  least  their  mock  combats,  no 
doubt  a  true  representation  of  real  battles,  are  so  conducted.  I  re- 
member once  ridiculing  a  Koordish  chief  for  this  harmless  mode  of 


326  A  PETITIONEK.  NOTE  C. 

and  so  on  alternately,  something  like  the  boys'  game  of 
prison-bars.  The  death  of  the  man  seemed  to  frighten  both 
factions,  for  they  gradually  withdrew  from  the  field. 

On  my  return  home  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  I 
witnessed  a  curious  and  amusing  trait  of  Persian  character. 
An  old  villager  ran  up  to  me,  crying,  "  You  are  welcome. 
You  are  welcome.  I  am  your  sacrifice.  I  have  a  petition 
to  make  to  your  service.  I  want  justice,  and  you  have 
come,  by  the  help  of  the  Prophet,  to  give  it  to  me.  I  have 
got  a  wife,  the  mother  of  eight  children.  A  week  ago  I 
gave  her  a  drubbing,  and  she  ran  off  to  her  own  village. 
Her  friends,  instead  of  restoring  my  wife,  are  going  to 
make  me  pay  the  dowry  and  force  me  to  divorce  her.  This 
is  most  contrary  to  equity,  and  against  the  law,  and  I  make 
this  petition  in  your  service  that  I  may  receive  justice." 
On  inquiring  the  cause  of  disagreement,  he  replied  that, 
having  bought  her  eight  yards  of  beautiful  English  chintz, 
she  abused  him,  and  called  him  son  of  a  dog  for  purchasing 
less  than  twelve :  thereupon  he  had  beaten  her  soundly 
with  the  halter  of  his  bullock.  In  the  skirmish  she  had 
pulled  out  a  part  of  his  beard.  "  Here  it  is,"  said  he,  pro- 
ducing it  from  his  pocket,  "and  I  shall  exhibit  it  against 
her,  after  my  death,  at  the  day  of  judgment."  A  Persian 
invariably  preserves  these  memorials  of  his  brawls  and 
grievances,  to  be  brought  in  evidence  against  the  aggressor 
at  the  time  mentioned  above.  I  remember  a  servant  of  the 
Mission,  in  a  fit  of  excitement  from  a  reprimand  he  had 
received  from  me,  pulling  out  of  his  pocket,  carefully  rolled 
up  in  numerous  coverings  of  linen,  a  tooth  which,  many 
years  before,  one  of  my  predecessors  had  dislodged  from  its 
tenement  under  great  provocation.  He  was  keeping  it  for 
the  rooz-kiamet,  the  day  of  judgment. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  a  man  whose  position  was 
simply  that  of  a  regimental  captain  in  the  Indian  army 
should  have  been  so  often  appealed  to  by  both  parties  in  a 


fighting,  telling  him  that  European  cavalry,  when  good  on  both  sides, 
charged  home  in  a  line,  and  that  the  Koords  ought  to  do  the  same. 
That  would  never  do,  said  he,  "  Kheilee  adam  kooshteh  mee  shewed  " 
— a  great  many  people  would  be  killed. 


NOTE  C.  ARDEBIL— DRUNKENNESS.  327 

matter  not  only  not  military  but  purely  religious.  The 
answer  is  plain.  Both  parties  knew  well  that  any  report 
I  might  make  woiild  be  exactly  in  conformity  with  truth, 
or  what  I  believed  as  such,  and  that  the  testimony  of  an 
English  officer  would  be  decisive. 

10th  Mohan-em. — This  is  the  last  day  of  mourning,  the 
day  of  massacre,  but  the  town  was  as  silent  as  if  it  had  no 
inhabitants,  both  paiiies  having  gone  to  make  their  com- 
plaints at  Tabreez,  where  the  highest  bribe  will  carry  the 
day. 

The  city  of  Ardebil,  where  the  founder  of  the  Seffavee  or 
"  Sofi "  race  of  kings  is  interred,  being  only  fifty  miles 
distant,  I  took  the  opportunity  of  riding  over  to  visit  it. 
The  town  is  situated  in  a  plain  crowned  on  the  north  by 
the  chain  of  the  Elboorz,  from  the  summit  of  which  the 
Caspian,  distant  forty  miles,  is  often  visible.  It  is  large 
and  straggling,  with  a  population  of  25,000,  and  a  good 
bazar.  Owing  to  the  elevation,  the  temperature  was  so  cold 
that,  even  on  the  2nd  of  August,  I  was  forced  to  make 
use  of  woollen  clothes. 

The  governor  was  absent  on  a  tour,  but  his  son  did  thfr 
honours.  He  gave  himself  an  impromptu  invitation  to  dine 
with  me  in  the  evening,  and  fortunately  brought  his  dinner 
with  him.  His  conversation  revealed  the  object  of  his 
visit,  wine  and  brandy  being  the  only  topics  on  which  he 
would  converse ;  but  he  was  sorely  discomfited  when  I 
produced  one  bottle  of  wine,  my  entire  stock.  He  brought 
with  him  one  of  his  boon  companions,  who,  when  helping 
himself  to  wine,  observing  a  drop  at  the  mouth  of  the  bottle, 
stretched  out  his  tongue  and  licked  it  up.  A  Persian  has 
no  sense  of  moderation  in  his  cups.  Once  he  acquires  the 
habit  of  using  wine,  which  in  the  large  towns  is  a  veiy 
general  practice,  he  never  drinks  but  to  get  drunk.  Men 
of  this  kind  are  usually  freethinkers  in  religion  as  long 
as  they  are  in  good  health,  and  pretend  to  laugh  at  the 
Prophet's  prohibition.  I  knew  one  Persian  gentleman,  a 
shocking  drunkard  but  rather  religious,  who  often  be- 
wailed to  mo  his  unfortunate  propensity.  "  I  know  it  is 
wrong,"  he  used  to  exclaim;  "I  know  I  shall  go  to  Je- 


328  SHRIXE  OF  SHAH  ISMAEL.  NOTE  C. 

hennam ;  every  day  I  make  a  towbeh  (an  act  of  repent- 
ance), and  every  night  that  rascal,  my  appetite,  gets  the 
better  of  me." 

The  shrine  of  Shah  Ismael  the  Great  is  contained  in  a 
decayed  mosque  built  by  his  great-grandfather  Sheikh  Seffi, 
a  saint  of  great  renown,  from  whom  the  name  of  the  dynasty 
is  adopted.  His  tomb  adjoins  that  of  the  valiant  monarch 
who  at  the  age  of  fourteen  began  his  career  of  conquest. 

The  saint  seemed  to  receive  more  veneration  than  the 
soldier.  On  entering  the  cell  where  his  remains  repose, 
which  I  did  without  impediment,  I  observed  several  mool- 
las  reciting  their  prayers  and  counting  their  beads,  and 
from  time  to  time  entering  into  conversation  with  each 
other,  according  to  Mussulman  practice  when  engaged  in 
their  devotions.  The  tomb  lay  under  a  solemn  dome,  to 
which  many  lamps  were  suspended,  but  everything  seemed 
in  a  state  of  decay.  In  the  cell  of  Shah  Ismael,  over  his 
tomb,  there  was  a  large  box  of  sandal-wood  shaped  like  a 
coffin,  inlaid  with  filigree  ivory,  which  had  been  sent  from 
India  by  Hoomeyoom  Shah,  as  a  mark  of  gratitude  for  the 
Sfeylum  he  had  once  received  in  Persia  from  a  descendant 
of  Shah  Ismael.  Three  swords  hung  from  the  dome, 
one  of  which  might  be  perhaps  the  veritable  weapon 
wielded  by  the  warlike  monarch  at  the  great  battle  of 
Chalderan,  near  Bayazeed,  where  he  received  a  bloody 
defeat  from  the  Turkish  Sultan  Selim.  The  Turks  are  de- 
scribed to  have  connected  their  long  array  of  guns  by 
chains,  which  broke  the  vigour  of  the  onset  of  the  Persian 
cavalry.  Shah  Ismael  led  in  person  a  headlong  charge,  in 
which,  with  a  single  cut  of  his  sabre,  he  divided  the  chain. 
The  Shah  is  said  never  to  have  smiled  after  having  sustained 
this  defeat. 

Close  to  the  tomb  was  a  large  chamber  containing  an 
enormous  quantity  of  blue  china  of  all  shapes  and  sizes, 
the  offering  of  Shah  Abbas  to  his  great  ancestor.  "When 
any  one  gives  a  charitable  feast  to  the  poor — a  common 
practice  among  the  Persians— he  is  entitled  to  make  use  of 
this  china,  which,  consequently,  is  in  a  perpetual  state  of 
diminution.  The  shrine  was  also  endowed  with  a  large  and 


NOTE  C.  MAEBLE-riTS.  329 

rich  library,  of  which,  when  Ardebil  was  occupied  by  the 
Russians  in  the  last  war,  they  carried  off  above  a  hundred 
of  the  most  valuable  manuscripts,  under  the  pretence  of 
taking  copies,  but  which.,  with  an  obliviousness  savouring 
strongly  of  Muscovy,  they  forgot  to  restore.  I  fear  the  two 
great  curiosities  of  this  library,  a  Koran  six  hundred  years 
old,  which  two  men  could  hardly  lift,  and  another  Koran 
in  part  written  by  AH  himself,  shared  the  same  fate. 

My  battalion  having  marched  to  Tehran,  I  returned  to 
Tabreez,  where  I  found  plague  and  cholera  raging  with 
violence,  so  I  left  the  city  as  soon  as  possible,  and  started 
on  my  vocation  of  "  drilling  and  disciplining  the  Persian 
army  "  to  Ooroomeeya,  a  large  town  on  the  west  side  of  the 
lake  bearing  the  same  name,  otherwise  called  Shahee,  and 
for  variety  I  travelled  by  the  longer  route  on  the  eastern 
side  of  that  fine  sheet  of  water.  The  face  of  the  country 
presented  a  remarkable  contrast  to  the  desolate,  arid  pros- 
pect generally  presented  in  a  Persian  landscape.  The 
villages  were  numerous,  surrounded  by  splendid  gardens 
filled  with  the  delicious  fruits  for  which  Azerbijan  is  re- 
nowned even  in  Persia. 

Midway  from  Tabreez  to  the  city  of  Maragha  I  passed 
near  and  paid  a  visit  to  the  petrifactions  well  known  under 
the  name  of  "  Tabreez  or  Maragha  marble."  They  are 
distant  about  a  mile  from  the  lake,  and  consist  of  several 
pits  or  ponds  twenty  yards  wide  and  eight  or  ten  feet  deep. 
The  marble  lies  in  parallel  layers,  several  inches  inter- 
vening between  each  layer,  the  first  being  about  four  feet 
from  the  surface.  Some  of  the  pits  were  dry,  owing  doubt- 
less to  extensive  excavation.  The  stages  of  petrifaction 
were  plainly  observable  from  a  thickening  of  the  water  like 
incipient  iced  cream  to  solid  ice,  to  which  it  bore  con- 
siderable resemblance.  The  marble  is  of  a  whitish  colour, 
with  large  veins  or  streaks  of  various  tints.  It  is  excavated 
in  slabs  of  considerable  size,  and  is  capable  of  receiving  a 
polish  equal  to  statuary  marble.  At  the  Mission-house  in 
Tabreez  a  ponderous  table,  highly  polished,  affords  a  good 
specimen  of  this  mineral  substance.  The  same  kind  of 
petrifaction  is  to  be  seen,  it  is  said,  at  the  hot  springs  of 


330  MARAGHA.  NOTE  C. 

Anguani,  near  Albano,  within  a  few  miles  of  Eome,  and 
also  at  Pestum.  Perhaps  the  petrifactions  of  Maragha,  like 
those  of  Italy,  are  formed  by  calcareous  springs  precipitating 
the  limestone  they  hold  in  solution.  The  transparency  of 
these  petrifactions  makes  it  possible  that  what  is  termed 
marble  may  be,  in  fact,  alabaster,  in  which  sulphur  was  the 
agent  instead  of  carbon. 

Maragha  is  sixty  miles  from  Tabreez.  The  enormous 
gardens  in  which  it  is  enclosed  are  its  only  ornament. 
Tradition  makes  it  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  of  Persia ; 
but  now,  like  most  towns  in  that  country,  all  is  decay.  It 
was  here  that,  about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
Hoolakoo  Khan,  the  grandson  of  Chengeez  Khan,  after 
conquering  Persia,  established  his  capital,  and  erected  his 
famous  observatory,  which  now  has  disappeared,  and  where, 
under  the  superintendence  of  Nassr  ud  deen,  were  com- 
pleted the  astronomical  tables  known  throughout  the  East 
under  the  name  of  Eelkhanee,  or  Lord  of  the  Eels,  that 
is,  his  patron  Hoolakoo. 

My  friend  and  I  lived  with  a  gentleman  of  rank  and 
wealth,  but  of  a  very  eccentric  character,  who  was  also  the 
colonel  of  a  regiment,  and  who  went  by  the  name  of  Dellee 
(or  mad)  Khan.  His  conversation  was  limited  to  the  subjects 
of  shooting  and  hunting,  in  which  occupations  he  seemed  to 
have  spent  his  life.  He  was  a  warm  admirer  of  the  juice 
of  the  grape  ;  and,  as  Persians  indulge  in  their  potations 
before  dinner,  he  was  generally  in  a  high  state  of  good 
humour  at  the  conclusion  of  that  meal.  On  one  occasion 
he  offered  me  a  large  bribe  to  throw  Ooroomeeya  over- 
board and  remain  at  Maragha  to  bring  his  regiment  into 
order.  On  another,  he  told  us  he  was  going  to  take  a  fresh 
wife,  whom  he  described  to  us  very  minutely,  although  he 
had  never  seen  her ;  and  showed  us  a  love-letter,  either 
from  the  young  lady  herself  or  from  her  brother.  Every 
evening,  after  he  had  eaten,  drunk,  and  talked  enough,  he 
used  to  wish  us  good  night,  saying  he  would  go  to  the 
anderoon  (the  haram)  and  have  a  chat  with  the  women. 
In  Hindoostan  a  Mussulman  gentleman  would  rather  die 
than  make  such  an  allusion;  but  in  Persia  there  is  far 


NOTE  C.          QUAIL-HAWKIXG— KOORDISH  CHIEF.  331 

from  being  an  equal  reserve.  The  afternoon  was  spent 
in  that  dullest  of  sports  quail-hawking.  A  dozen  of 
horsemen  carried  each  a  sparrowhawk  on  his  wrist,  and 
whenever  a  bird  rose  the  nearest  hawk  was  thrown  at  it. 
The  hawk  made  his  rush,  hit  or  miss,  and  there  was  an 
end  of  the  matter,  as  the  quail  dips  immediately  if  not 
.struck  by  its  pursuer.  On  one  occasion  the  wrong  hawk 
was  thrown,  which  allowed  the  quail  to  escape,  and  this 
mistake  roused  the  violent  wrath  of  the  Khan,  who  pro- 
posed to  put  the  hawksman  to  death,  asking  my  companion 
and  me  if  that  were  not  the  proper  punishment. 

From  Maragha  we  went  to  the  southern  part  of  the  lake, 
which  formed  a  portion  of  the  district  of  Souk  Boolak  be- 
longing to  the  Perso-Koordish  tribe  of  Mikree.  The  Koords 
were  very  civil ;  they  gave  us  good  quarters,  invited  us  to 
walk  in  their  gardens,  and  brought  out  their  horses  for  our 
inspection.  The  town  of  Souk  Boolak  being  only  a  few 
miles  distant,  we  thought  so  good  an  opportunity  was  not 
to  be  lost  of  seeing  a  Koordish  chief  and  his  little  court  in 
all  their  wildness  and  freedom,  unsophisticated  by  Persian 
manners.  We  travelled  along  the  pleasant  banks  of  the 
Jaghata'i,  a  river  of  some  size  for  Persia,  and  which  falls 
into  the  lake.  On  arriving,  we  sent  to  the  chief,  Abdoollah 
Khan,  to  request  we  might  be  furnished  with  quarters,  which 
were  immediately  assigned  to  us,  and  in  a  short  time  an 
excellent,  ample,  and  multifarious  breakfast  was  sent  by 
our  host.  We  then  went  to  visit  him  in  his  deewan  khana, 
or  hall  of  audience,  where  he  received  us  in  state,  sur- 
rounded by  fifty  or  sixty  Koords  and  moollas,  his  retainers, 
relations,  and  friends ;  but,  to  our  disappointment,  instead 
of  the  stately,  redoubtable  Koord  we  had  prepared  our- 
selves to  see,  we  found  Abdoollah  Khan  had  transformed 
himself  in  manners,  dress,  and  appearance,  into  a  Persian. 
A  long  conversation  followed,  in  which  the  whole  company 
joined. 

The  appearance  of  a  Koord  of  the  tipper  class  is  very 
striking.  His  face  is  somewhat  Grecian,  but  thin,  re- 
sembling the  heads  to  be  seen  at  Shahpoor  and  Persepolis 
of  the  ancient  Persians,  from  whom  he  is  doubtless  de- 


332  THE  KOORDS.  NOTE  C. 

scended.  His  person  is  meagre,  like  that  of  an  Arab.  He 
wears  an  enormous  turban,  generally  a  shawl ;  but  among 
the  Mikrees  it  is  a  particular  manufacture  of  wool  and 
silk,  imported  from  Moosul,  striped  red  and  white,  with 
a  long  fringe  of  red  hanging  down  on  the  shoulders,  and 
making  a  very  strange  appearance.  His  trousers  are  of 
enormous  size,  showing  that  the  owner  is  a  horseman,  not 
a  pedestrian.  He  wears  a  short  jacket,  and  over  all  the 
loose  Arab  abba,  black  or  white,  made  of  camel's-hair,  and 
in  his  girdle  the  indispensable  dagger.  The  Koords  are 
a  grave  people  in  public,  though  among  themselves  they 
are  cheerful,  and  fond  of  various  pastimes.  They  speak 
with  loud,  boisterous  voices,  like  men  accustomed  to  pass 
their  lives  in  the  open  air. 

My  companion,  who  was  engaged  in  commerce,  had  an 
eye  to  business,  when  he  beheld  and  examined  these  Koord- 
ish  turbans,  and  proposed  to  himself  to  drive  the  Moosul 
manufacture  out  of  the  market  by  an  importation  from 
England.  I  had  some  doubt  of  its  success,  for  fashion  has 
its  influence  in  Souk  Boolak  as  well  as  in  London  or 
Constantinople,  where  Manchester  has  never  been  able  to 
extirpate  the  genuine  fes  of  Morocco. 

From  Souk  Boolak  we  travelled  through  a  very  wild 
desolate  country  back  to  the  lake  through  the  district  of 
Sooldooz.  The  second  day  we  passed  near  a  Koordish 
encampment,  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  which  came  running 
towards  us  inviting  us  to  be  their  guests,  but,  not  liking 
their  appearance,  and  knowing  that  plundering  Koords  often 
encamp  near  the  road  as  being  more  convenient  for  their 
game,  we  declined.  A  Koord  is  not  a  man  of  honour  like 
an  Arab,  who  gives  you  a  fair  start  from  his  tent  before 
he  attacks ;  neither  is  he  so  bad  as  that  vilest  of  all  tribes, 
the  Toorkomans,  a  compound  of  treachery  and  false  hos- 
pitality. 

In  Sooldooz  we  saw  nothing  remarkable  excepting  two 
small  fresh- water  lakes  containing  immense  fish  of  the  carp 
kind.  Next  we  had  before  us  an  object  of  untiring  admira- 
tion in  the  Koordistan  range  of  mountains  running  north 
and  south ;  they  were  covered  with  snow  halfway  to  the 


NOTE  C.  APPROACH  TO  OOROOMEEYA.  333 

base ;  and  I  know  nothing  that  can  cope  with  the  grandeur 
of  a  great  mountain  thus  arrayed.  What  can  eqiial  the 
mighty  Himalaya  ?  Who  can  forget  those  monarch  moun- 
tains that  has  once  beheld  them  ?  Their  greatness,  their 
stillness,  and  their  solemnity  fill  the  mind  with  the  idea  of 
immensity  and  eternity.  The  ocean  by  its  motion  and  its 
murmurs  fails  to  excite  conceptions  of  equal  depth.  The 
Koordistan  range  cannot  compete  with  the  Himalaya,  still 
they  are  noble  mountains,  and  full  of  interest  from  the 
ancient  races,  Christian  and  Koord,  inhabiting  them. 

Our  road  led  us  close  to  the  lake,  lifeless  and  still  as  that 
of  Palestine,  the  intense  saltness  rendering  it  impossible  for 
fish  or  other  animals  to  exist  in  its  waters.  Although  its 
shores  are  not  enriched  with  wood,  its  appearance  is  pleas- 
ing from  the  islands  with  which  the  central  part  is  studded. 
The  approach  to  the  town  of  Ooroomeeya  is  highly  pic- 
turesque ;  it  is  situated  in  a  fine  plain  bearing  the  same 
name,  with  the  mountains  of  Koordistan  on  one  side  and 
the  lake  on  the  other.  The  cultivation  of  this  valley  is 
very  rich.  For  twelve  miles  it  is  surrounded  with  gardens, 
intermingled  with  melon-grounds,  cotton  and  tobacco  fields : 
the  latter,  of  high  estimation  for  chibouk-smoking,  is  sent 
in  large  quantities  to  Constantinople ;  but  for  the  kalian, 
or  water-pipe,  the  tobacco  of  Sheeraz  is  the  only  thing 
tolerated  in  "  good  society,"  and  is  of  a  flavour  and  delicacy 
which  would  reconcile  it  to  the  regal  olfactories  of  the  first 
James  himself. 

I  found  my  regiment  of  Afshars,  amounting  only  to  200 
or  300  men,  in  the  same  condition  as  the  Sheghaghees  when 
I  first  joined  them,  fresh  from  the  plough ;  but  as  several 
old  soldiers  of  the  same  tribe  well  capable  of  drilling  were 
present,  and  the  colonel,  himself  a  veteran,  co-operated 
with  hearty  good  will,  everything  went  oh  smoothly,  and 
we  made  that  rapid  progress  in  our  military  acquirements 
which  may  always  be  expected  from  a  Persian  when  he  has 
fair  play.  A  Persian  is  sometimes  called  the  Frenchman  of 
the  East,  from  his  intelligence,  his  quickness,  his  social 
qualities,  and  to  these  may  be  added  the  same  aptitude  for 
arms  which  distinguishes  the  Gallic  warrior.  Though  ho 


334  THE  AFSHARS.  NOTE  C. 

never  attains  the  wonderful  precision  of  an  English  soldier — 
I  doubt  if  he  ever  could — he  has  a  very  satisfactory  readiness 
in  comprehending  and  attaining  the  really  essential  points 
required  in  a  regiment  of  infantry.  A  single  battalion  has 
a  perfect  facility  in  forming  a  line,  or  square,  or  column, 
even  when  unaided  by  European  officers  ;  but  when  it  comes 
to  be  increased  to  a  large  body,  and  is  required  to  move, 
then  indeed  it  is  chaos ;  they  settle  the  difficulty  by  not 
moving  at  all. 

The  Sheghaghees  are  called  a  wild  tribe,  but  the  Afshars 
of  Ooroomeeya  are  ten  times  wilder  and  more  turbulent, 
owing  in  part,  no  doubt,  to  their  proximity  to  the  Koordish 
frontier,  and  to  the  constant  broils  and  skirmishes  in  which 
they  are  engaged  with  those  marauders.  In  strong  contrast 
with  the  quietness  or  apathy  so  remarkable  in  a  Turkish 
city,  these  Toorks,  when  freed  from  parade,  seemed  to  devote 
themselves  to  quarrels,  and,  as  they  never  quarrelled  without 
yelling  and  shouting,  the  whole  town,  or  at  least  their  part 
of  it,  resounded  with  their  frays  and  their  most  indecent 
abuse  of  each  other.  Their  ever-ready  kamma,  a  most 
formidable  cut-and-thrust  dagger,  was  always  at  their  sides 
to  make  it  a  word  and  a  blow ;  yet  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  method  in  their  wrath.  A  thrust  from  a  kamma  is 
almost  certain  death,  and  this  they  are  so  careful  to  avoid 
inflicting,  that  amid  all  their  fighting  I  never  saw  a  wound 
of  that  kind,  though  there  was  a  most  abundant  harvest 
from  the  edge  of  the  weapon.*  Another  of  their  practices 
was  to  rob  and  pilfer  in  the  bazar  in  broad  daylight ;  meat, 
vegetables,  and  other  eatables  were  not  safe  from  their 
clutches ;  but  above  all  a  good  lambskin-cap  had  irresistible 
attractions  in  their  eyes,  the  abstraction  being  usually 
accomplished  by  first  knocking  down  the  owner  of  the 


•  *  This  dagger  is  often  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length,  and  upwards  of 
two  inches  wide  at  the  broadest  part,  and  very  heavy.  It  is  the 
favourite  weapon  of  the  Lezghees  of  Daghastan.  The  blade  generally 
contains  appropriate  inscriptions,  inlaid  and  gilt.  One  in  my  posses- 
sion is  adorned  with  the  following,  — "  I  am  sharper  than  the  wit  of 
Plato :  I  am  more  murderous  than  the  eyebrow  of  a  young  damsel." 


NOTE  C.  THE  AFSHARS.  335 

coveted  spoil.  The  lash,  therefore,  was  in  constant  requi- 
sition for  the  first  month  of  my  sojourn. 

Besides  their  turbulence,  these  Afshars,  officers  and  men, 
were  the  most  drunken  set  of  fellows  that  I  ever  encoun- 
tered. Drinking  is  not  an  uncommon  vice  in  the  Persian 
army  ;  but  at  Ooroomeeya,  where  wine  is  abundant  and 
tolerably  good,  it  passed  all  bounds,  and  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  the  precept  of  the  Prophet  was  more  or  less 
set  aside  by  all  classes,  and  that,  not  satisfied  with  purchas- 
ing wine  from  the  Christian  community,  they  proceeded  to 
the  length  of  manufacturing  it  in  their  own  houses. 

The  object  of  these  notes  being  to  convey  an  idea  of 
Persian  character  under  phases  and  in  circumstances  not 
usually  accessible  to  ordinary  travellers,  I  think  that  design 
will  be  best  fulfilled  by  making  extracts  from  a  note-book 
which  I  kept  during  my  residence  at  Ooroomeeya. 

"Sept.  1st,  1835. — I  am  always  fated  to  be  at  strife  with 
the  ruling  people,  and  whether  it  is  their  fault  or  mine  I 
am  at  a  loss  to  determine.  The  contest  on  the  present 
occasion  is  caused  by  the  Beglerbegee,  the  Governor,  want- 
ing to  thrash  the  soldiers  for  the  disturbances  they  make  in 
the  bazar,  while  I  insist  that  no  one  shall  thrash  them 
excepting  myself.  These  Afshars  are  great  rascals  and 
deserve  drubbing  right  and  left. 

"  We  flogged  four  fellows  to-day,  one  for  stealing  a  lamb, 
another  for  appropriating  a  fowl,  and  two  for  fighting  and 
stabbing.  Three  officers  came  drunk  to  parade;  I  made 
them  over  to  the  colonel,  who  punished  them,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  country,  by  a  severe  drubbing. 

"  Oct.  2nd. — The  delicacy  or  reserve  so  observable  in  India 
with  regard  to  females  exists  by  no  means  to  the  same 
extent  in  this  country.  The  men,  even  those  of  high  rank, 
speak  without  any  reserve  of  their  wives  and  sisters,  &c. 
The  colonel  of  this  regiment  often  talks  to  me  of  his  wife, 
and  gives  me  curious  details  of  his  domestic  arrangements, 
which,  however,  do  not  bear  repetition.  He  visits  me  fre- 
quently at  sunset,  accompanied  by  three  or  four  bottles  of 
wine  and  a  couple  of  dozen  of  cucumbers,  all  of  which  he 
finishes  before  he  retires  to  his  own  house  to  dinner.  This 


336  MARCH  TO  MERGEWER.  NOTE  C. 

is  the  manner  in  which  a  Persian  delights  to  take  his  pota- 
tions ;  give  him  in  addition  a  greensward,  a  purling  stream, 
a  gentle  shower,  a  singer  or  two  to  troll  out  a  catch  a  la 
nightingale,  a  pleasant  companion,  and  he  is  in  paradise. 

"  Oct.  26th. — Intelligence  arrived  this  morning  that  Merge- 
wer,  one  of  the  districts  of  Ooroomeeya,  had  been  plundered 
the  previous  night  by  a  large  body  of  men  belonging  to  the 
Meer  of  Eewandooz,  a  rebellious  subject  of  the  Sultan, 
living  in  the  mountains  of  Koordistan  in  an  almost  inacces- 
sible hill-fortress.  After  three  hours'  delay  three  rounds 
of  ammunition  per  man  were  distributed  to  us,  and  after  a 
terrible  uproar  we  marched  out  of  the  town.  Here  I  halted 
and  protested  I  would  not  move  a  step  farther  unless  flints 
were  supplied.  Three  more  hours  having  elapsed,  the 
Governor  collected  from  the  bazars  one  flint  per  man, 
wretched  things,  fit  for  pocket-pistols.  At  length  we  moved 
towards  Merge wer,  and  at  night  arrived  at  a  village,  where 
we  halted.  Next  day  in  the  afternoon  information  reached 
us  that  4000  men  of  the  marauders  had  gone  in  the  direc- 
tion of  a  large  village  with  the  design  of  plundering.  It 
was  sunset  when  we  started,  but  we  hoped  to  reach  it  in 
two  hours,  being  only  six  miles  distant.  Soon  after  we 
marched  it  began  to  rain ;  we  then  lost  our  road,  and  passed 
over  innumerable  streams,  each  of  whose  bridges  was  a 
single  plank  ;  and  as  Persian  soldiers  detest  wetting  their 
feet,  they  crossed  over  in  single  file.  We  were  five  hours 
on  the  road ;  it  rained  as  it  does  in  India  and  was  exceed- 
ingly cold.  Half  the  soldiers  did  not  come  in  that  night. 
Having  no  pouches,  their  cartridges  were  carried  in  the 
pockets  of  their  large  linen  trousers.  They  were  dressed 
in  jackets  of  the  same  material,  without  coats  or  protection 
of  any  kind  from  the  cold ;  but  the  power  of  endurance  in 
a  Persian  soldier  is  inexhaustible. 

"  The  Koords  did  not  make  their  appearance,  and  not  for 
two  days  was  it  ascertained  that  they  had  gone  to  their  own 
side  of  the  mountains.  Thus  terminated  our  campaign,  and 
fortunately  for  us  it  was  a  bloodless  one.  Only  three  days 
previously  had  these  recruits  received  their  muskets,  and 
fully  half  of  their  number  now  saw  a  weapon  of  that  kind 


NOTE  C.  KOORDISH  CAVALRY.  337 

for  the  first  time  in  their  lives.  In  endeavouring  to  gain 
an  insight  into  the  use  of  a  ball-cartridge,  there  was  a 
general  inclination  to  insert  the  ball  first ;  and  when  once 
they  had  put  the  rusty  old  flint-musket  on  full-cock,  few 
among  them  could  get  it  out  of  that  condition  without 
calling  for  assistance ;  yet  they  manoeuvred  well. 

"  During  our  stay  we  were  joined  constantly  by  parties  of 
thirty  or  forty  horsemen,  which  in  all  amounted  to  about 
400  cavalry ;  of  these  the  Toorks  looked  worthless,  and  the 
Koords  pretty  good.  The  latter  were  chiefly  of  the  tribe 
of  Shekak.  The  large  and  variegated  turban  of  the  Koord 
looks  well ;  so  does  he  too,  with  his  wild,  expressive,  manly 
countenance ;  but  they  are  shocking  ruffians.  Their  arms 
are  a  spear  and  sword,  and,  when  they  can  afford  the  pur- 
chase, a  pair  of  long  Turkish  pistols  in  their  belt.  They 
prefer  riding  on  mares,  either  because  they  make  less  noise 
than  horses  in  a  marauding  excursion,  or  from  an  idea  of 
their  supporting  fatigue  better.  Their  horses  are  small  but 
hardy  creatures,  of  Arab  blood.  Several  of  the  chiefs  pre- 
tended to  be  of  Arab  descent,  though  without  much  founda- 
tion for  the  assumption ;  yet  they  look  like  Arabs,  thin, 
wiry,  sinewy  fellows.  Their  manners  were  very  agreeable. 

"  It  is  a  fine  sight  to  see  a  body  of  300  or  400  Koordish 
cavaliy  in  movement  proceeding  on  a  chapow  or  marauding 
expedition.  They  move  in  a  compact  body,  making  great 
way  over  the  ground,  at  a  pace  half- walk,  half-trot,  like  the 
Afghans ;  their  spears  are  held  aloft  with  the  black  tuft 
dangling  below  the  point;  their  keen  looks,  loud  eager 
voices,  and  guttural  tones,  give  them  a  most  martial  air. 
In  front  are  the  chiefs,  and  by  their  side  are  the  kettle- 
drummers  beating  their  instruments  of  war  with  vast 
energy  ;  they  always  lead  the  way. 

"  During  this  trip  I  lived  with,  and  saw  a  good  deal  of 
the  Persian  military  khans,  and  I  preserve  a  pleasant  recol- 
lection of  their  character  in  general.  They  can,  when  need 
be,  lie  down  with  perfect  unconcern  in  their  boorommas  or 
rough  great-coats  and  go  to  sleep.  Bread,  cheese,  and  a 
melon  suffice  for  breakfast ;  and  dinner  was  a  pilaw,  or 
something  of  that  kind.  They  like  to  have  on  the  tray 

Q 


338  DEATH  OF  THE  AFSHAR  COLONEL.  NOTE  C. 

several  little  dishes,  such  as  cucumbers,  sliced  melons, 
pickles,  of  which  last  they  are  enormous  consumers  to  coun- 
teract the  effect  of  their  greasy  dishes.  They  hate  being 
alone  at  night ;  they  sit  up  late,  talk  a  great  deal,  and  find 
great  pleasure  in  abusing  their  absent  acquaintances. 

"  The  colonel  of  this  regiment  finished  his  earthly  career 
the  day  after  our  return,  and  the  cause  of  his  death  affords 
a  good  specimen  of  Persian  manners  and  customs.  The 
night  of  his  return  from  our  expedition  he  got  drunk  accord- 
ing to  his  usual  practice  and  quarrelled  with  his  wife. 
The  cause  of  the  dispute  was  a  rebuke  from  her  that  he 
should  propose  to  sleep  in  the  beroon  (meaning  the  part 
of  the  house  not  used  as  the  haram)  when  he  had  a  wife 
in  the  anderoon.  This  observation  roused  the  wrath  of 
the  colonel,  who  wanted  to  stab  his  wife,  but,  being 
prevented,  wisely  stabbed  himself  in  the  thigh,  close  to 
the  groin ;  this  was  at  midnight.  In  the  morning  his 
relations  begged  of  me  to  visit  him,  which  I  did,  accom- 
panied by  a  foreign  practitioner  living  in  Ooroomeeya. 
We  found  him  greatly  reduced  from  loss  of  blood,  cold 
extremities,  and  pain  in  the  stomach.  The  apparently  ju- 
dicious course  was  to  maintain  his  system,  but  the  doctor 
adopted  another  treatment,  and  ordered  him  a  dose  of  salts. 
The  poor  colonel  called  as  loudly  as  his  state  would  let 
him  for  '  poonch ;'  and  of  the  two  I  am  sure  his  prescrip- 
tion was  the  best.  He  died  that  night,  and  was  a  loss  to 
his  men,  for,  in  spite  of  his  propensity  to  wine,  he  was  active 
and  energetic  and  indifferent  honest. 

"  Nov.  20th. — I  begin  to  think  it  hopeless  to  endeavour  to 
establish  Nizam — the  word  used  to  denote  a  regular  army 
in  Persia.  Before  my  arrival  here,  the  colonel  of  this 
regiment  reported  to  the  Ameer  Nizam  that  500  men  were 
borne  on  his  muster-rolls  ;  I  have  been  here  three  months 
and  they  now  amount  to  320  men.  Nothing  can  exceed  the 
difficulty  I  have  had  in  obtaining  money  and  bread  for  the 
men — bread  I  do  get  and  some  money,  but  only  by  force 
of  disputing  and  quarrelling.  V.  inter  has  now  approached  ; 
these  poor  fellows  suffer  exceedingly  in  their  linen  gar- 
ments, and  not  more  than  half  their  number  can  be  found 


NOTE  C.  CHARACTER  OF  PERSIANS.  339 

for  parade.  An  order  has  come  to  dismiss  the  regiment 
and  send  the  men  to  their  homes,  so  I  am  to  decamp.  This 
is  the  Persian  notion  of  a  '  regular  army.'  " 

My  residence  among  the  Sheghaghees  and  the  Afshars 
threw  me  naturally  a  good  deal  into  the  society  of  the  upper 
and  middle  provincial  classes  of  Persia — the  lower  ranks  of 
khans,  men  of  small  landed  property,  which  they  them- 
selves superintended — that  infinitely  numerous  class  called 
meerza,  to  which  every  one  possessed  of  the  accomplish- 
ments of  reading  and  writing,  who  is  not  a  moolla,  or  a 
merchant,  or  a  tribeman,  seems  to  belong.  My  intercourse 
with  them  gave  me  a  favourable  impression  of  their  disposi- 
tions. As  a  man  of  the  world,  a  Persian  is  generally  a  very- 
agreeable  and  rather  amiable  person,  unless  when  his  insa- 
tiable greediness  of  power,  money,  or  intrigue,  is  excited, 
at  which  time  he  is  a  bad  specimen  of  humanity,  and  will 
pause  at  no  wickedness  ;  yet  nowhere  does  one  hear  so  much 
talking  and  praise  of  goodness  and  virtue.  As  the  normal 
state  of  two-thirds  of  the  nation  is  an  avidity  for  power  and 
money,  their  moral  state  may  be  conceived.  When  not 
engaged  in  the  indulgence  of  the  above  and  one  or  two  other 
propensities,  the  dolce  far  niente  existence  has  iiTesistible 
attractions  to  a  Persian.  His  life  is  spent  in  talking,  and 
the  more  public  the  talk  the  more  acceptable  it  is  to  him. 
Without  this  seasoning  he  can  neither  plan  nor  do  anything, 
whether  it  be  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  neighbour,  declare  war 
against  the  Sultan,  or  murder  a  Russian  minister.  So  na- 
tional is  this  habit,  and  so  highly  is  it  valued,  that  they 
seldom  discuss  a  man's  character,  moral  and  intellectual, 
without  adding  "  he  is  a  very  agreeable  man  in  conversa- 
tion," or  the  reverse.  We  frequently  used  to  take  excur- 
sions on  horseback  of  some  miles  to  a  garden,  vineyard, 
cucumber  or  melon  ground.  They  seemed  unable  to  ride 
quietly  along  the  road,  some  rushing  forward  to  throw 
the  jereed,  others  to  play  at  ky  kaj.  If  an  unfortunate 
sparrow  or  lark  was  detected  wondering  at  the  cavalcade, 
hawk  in  hand  ho  was  pounced  upon.  If  a  tree  or  a  stream 
looked  at  all  inviting,  a  proposal  was  often  made  to  bm  ;i 
lamb  from  a  neighbouring  flock ;  he  was  soon  cut  up  into 

Q  2 


34:0  PERSIAN  DRINKING  BOUTS.  NOTE  C. 

small  bits,  a  fire  was  kindled,  and  a  ramrod  formed  the  spit. 
So  ready  are  they  for  these  rural  culinary  arrangements, 
that  each  man  carries  a  little  spit  and  a  knife  attached  to 
the  sheath  of  his  kamrna,  or  dagger.  Or  they  would  get  a 
quantity  of  melons,  in  which  fruit  they  pretend  to  be  great 
connoisseurs,  and  open  fifty  before  they  found  one  to  their 
taste.  But  talking— ' '  bald  disjointed  chat " — was  the  staple 
of  everything.  Altogether  they  are  pleasant  fellows  for  a 

space. 

But  their  amusements  are  said  not  to  be  always  quite  so 
harmless.  In  their  drinking  parties  they  are  reported, 
among  even  the  highest  classes,  to  exceed  all  bounds  of  dis- 
cretion. Half  a  dozen  boon  companions  meet  at  night.  The 
floor  is  covered  with  a  variety  of  stimulating  dishes  to 
provoke  drinking,  for  which  no  provocation  whatever  is 
required  ;  among  these  are  pickles  of  every  possible  variety, 
and  salted  prawns  or  cray-fish  from  the  Persian  Gulf— a  food 
which  ought  to  be  an  abomination  to  a  true  Sheah.  Singers 
and  dancing-boys  enliven  the  scene.  A  Persian  despises  a 
wine-glass  ;  a  tumbler  is  his  measure.  He  has  an  aversion 
to  "heeltaps,"  and  he  drains  his  glass  to  the  dregs,  with 
his  left  hand  under  his  chin  to  catch  the  drops  of  wine,  lest 
he  should  be  detected  next  morning  in  respectable  society 
by  the  marks  on  his  dress.  They  begin  with  pleasant  con- 
versation, scandal,  and  gossip;  then  they  become  personal, 
quarrelsome,  abusive,  and  indecent,  after  the  unimaginable 
Persian  fashion.  As  the  orgies  advance,  as  the  mirth 
waxes  fast  and  furious,  all  restraint  is  thrown  aside.  They 
strip  themselves  stark  naked,  dance,  and  play  all  sorts  of 
antics  and  childish  tricks.  One  dips  his  head  and  face  into 
a  bowl  of  curds,  and  dances  a  solo  to  the  admiring  topers ; 
while  another  places  a  large  deeg,  or  cooking-pot,  on  his 
head,  and  displays  his  graces  and  attitudes  on  the  light 
fantastic  toe,  or  rather  heel. 

I  shall  conclude  this  digression  by  a  few  anecdotes  illus- 
trative of  Persian  character  and  manners.  In  a  long  inter- 
course with  Persians,  one  is  apt  to  imagine  that  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  conscience  throughout  the  land  ;  but  this  is  a 
mistake.  It  does  exist ;  and  if  the  examples  of  its  influence 


NOTE  C.  ANECDOTES  OF  PERSIANS.  341 

are  not  often  met  with,  a  Persian  would  say  the  reason  is 
that  the  occasions  are  wanting.  "  You  English  "  (once  said 
to  me  a  Persian,  a  diligent  student  in  the  scandal,  gossip, 
and  politics  translated  for  the  Shah  from  English  news- 
papers by  an  Englishman  whom  he  retains  in  his  service 
for  that  purpose)  "  are  perpetually  sneering  at  the  wicked- 
ness of  Persia,  as  if  England  were  all  goodness.  Yet  where 
in  the  world  are  such  wretches  to  be  found  as  in  that  paragon 
country  of  yours,  where  wives,  husbands,  fathers,  mothers, 
sons,  and  daughters,  are  for  ever  poisoning  and  murdering 
each  other  for  a  few  shillings ;  where  a  man  cannot  let  his 
land  as  he  pleases  without  being  murdered ;  where  people 
slay  each  other  for  some  difference  in  the  dogmas  of  the 
same  religion  ;  where  the  most  inconceivable  schemes  are 
invented  to  perpetuate  fraud  and  swindling,  such  as  never 
entered  into  the  imagination  of  any  other  people ;  where  in 
one  city  alone  there  are  almost  100,000  women  of  known 
impropriety ;  and  where  you  are  everlastingly  boasting  of 
your  own  morality  and  superiority  ?"  "  Khan  e  azeez  e  men. 
My  worthy  khan,  it  is  true,  quite  true,  that  we  are  a  wicked 
race ;  but  the  difference  between  us  and  you  is  this, — that 
with  all  our  enormous  vice  there  is  a  vast  deal  of  virtue  in 
England :  tell  me  the  number  of  good  men  in  Tehran." 

But  to  my  illustrations.  A  man  once  rushed  into  Mr. 

N 's  room  at  Tabreez,  and,  throwing  five  shillings  on 

the  table,  exclaimed,  "  Take  it,  take  it ;  thank  God  I  have 
got  rid  of  it.  I  have  had  no  rest  for  a  month."  This  AV.IS 
a  penitent  glazier  who  had  overcharged  him,  but  whose 
conscience  would  not  sleep. 

B told  me  a  story  which  puts  the  Persian  character 

in  a  curious  light.  A  very  respectable  merchant,  one  who 
sometimes  paid  him  1000Z.  in  cash,  once  called  on  him  and 
said  he  had  a  private  communication  to  make.  "When  they 
were  alone,  the  man  displayed  the  utmost  agitation;  he 
trembled  and  his  eyes  started  from  the  sockets.  At  length 
he  said,  "  For  two  months  I  have  not  slept,  owing  to  an 
injury  I  once  did  to  you.  Do  you  remember  that  two 
months  ago  I,  with  some  other  merchants,  was  looking  at 
some  china  tea-sets  belonging  to  you  ?  On  that  occasion  I 


342  ANECDOTES  ILLUSTRATIVE  OF  NOTE  C. 

stole  a  teacup  and  saucer,  which  I  put  in  my  pocket. 
Though  I  am  ready  to  expire  from  confusion,  I  find  it 
necessary  for  my  peace  of  mind  to  own  my  fault.  I  have 
not  slept  since,  and  I  beg  you  to  make  this  lawful  to  me."  * 
From  agitation,  these  words  were  uttered  with  difficulty. 

B asked  him  what  could  induce  a  man  like  him  to 

commit  such  an  act  ?  to  which  he  answered,  that  he  could 
ascribe  it  only  to  the  villany  and  malice  of  the  devil. 

B •  gave  me  an  account  of  a  dinner  at  which  he  was 

present  last  night.  Agha  • ,  the  magistrate  of  the  parish, 

was  the  host,  and  the  guests  were  A Khan,  a  man  of 

very  high  rank,  II —  -  Khan,  and  Meerza  M .  Three 

of  the  party  became  perfectly  intoxicated,  the  others  gambled 
until  the  losers  had  no  more  to  lose,  and  what  they  did 

lose  was  money  borrowed  on  the  spot  from  B .  The 

language  they  used  to  each  other  was  beyond  measure 
obscene.  Accusations  of  cheating,  perfectly  true  for  that 
matter,  were  bandied  to  and  fro,  and  daggers  were  drawn 
more  than  once.  So  much  for  the  fashionable  society 
of . 

There  has  been  a  three  days'  illumination  of  the  bazar 
at  —  -  in  honour  of  the  capture  of  Sheeraz.  The  bazars 
were  prettily  lighted  up  and  ornamented  with  shawls, 
tinsel,  handkerchiefs,  &c.,  hung  up  in  the  shops,  while  the 
people  seemed  to  amuse  themselves  with  singing,  playing 

on  the  tambourine,  &c.  We  met  Khan,  beglerbegee 

or  governor  in  the  street,  and  strolled  about  with  him.  He 
was  not  only  perfectly  drunk,  but  he  even  ventured  to  drink 
wine  in  the  bazar  in  a  room  open  to  the  view  of  the  public. 
He  boasted  of  having  collected  40  tomans  that  night  by 
suppressing  rows,  fines  for  not  lighting,  &c.  As  we  went 
along,  whenever  the  people  did  not  clap  their  hands  and 
sing  to  show  their  joy,  he  laid  about  on  their  heads  with 
his  stick  with  his  own  hands,  and  he  finished  his  black- 
guardism by  .... 


*  "  Making  lawful "  means  making  a  gift  of  all  peculations  and  thefts, 
so  that  no  account  may  be  demanded  at  the  day  of  general  judgment. 
A  discharged  servant  usually  adopts  this  precaution. 


NOTE  C.        PERSIAN  CHARACTER  AND  MANNERS.  343 

— —  writes  from  Ooroomeeya  that  a  Kestorian  girl  has 
been  seized  by  a  Mussulman,  who  wants  to  force  her  to 
become  a  Mahommedan.  This  is  the  second  instance  of  a 
similar  kind  within  a  short  time.  He  also  writes  word  that 
a  child  was  found  dead  at  the  door  of  a  Jew,  and  that  there 
was  no  doubt  of  the  death  being  natural.  The  mob  as- 
sembled and  insisted  on  slaying  the  300  Jewish  families 
residing  at  Ooroomeeya.  They  were  pacified  by  being 
allowed  to  bum  one  whom  they  selected  for  that  purpose. 

It  is  a  prevalent  belief  in  Persia  that  the  Jews  ofler 
annually  a  Mussulman  child  in  sacrifice,  and  this  calumny 
is  constantly  made  the  pretext  of  oppressing  that  race. 

This  is  not  the  first  time  I  have  heard  of  a  victim  suffering 
the  penalty  of  burning,  which  seems  to  be  a  favourite  dis- 
cipline among  the  Afshars.  A  Xestorian  tenant  would  not 
or  could  not  pay  his  rent,  so  his  Afshar  landlord  made  a 
bonfire  of  him  on  his  own  thrashing-floor. 

The  Ameer  gave  me  a  strange  narrative  of  a  disturbance 
in  Tehran.  A  Xestorian  in  the  Eussian  regiment*  wounded 
a  shopkeeper  in  the  bazar.  While  the  bystanders  endea- 
voured to  seize  him,  he  killed  two  men  and  wounded  three 
others.  The  culprit  was  taken  before  the  king,  who  or- 
dered him  to  be  conveyed  to  the  square  and  put  to  death, 
and  his  Majesty  sent  his  Ferash  bashee  and  his  Ferashes  to 
exec-lite  the  sentence.  The  soldiers  in  the  square  at  drill, 
chiefly  Persians,  rescued  their  Christian  comrade,  thrashed 
the  Ferash  bashee,  and  hurried  the  criminal  to  the  house  of 
the  Russian  minister,  who,  they  insisted,  should  intercede 
for  the  man.  He  did  so.  This  ruffian  was  pardoned  <n 
]  laying  the  price  of  blood.  The  Russian  elchee  offered  to 
contribute  300  tomans  (150Z.),  but  his  donation  was  refused 
by  the  colonels  of  the  regiments,  who  raised  the  money 
among  themselves.  It  was  a  very  curious  circumstance 
that  these  Mahommedan  soldiers  should  have  interfered  to 
save  the  life  of  a  Christian,  merely  from  the  spirit  of  com- 
radeship. 

*  Twenty  year*  ago  there  was  a  regiment  of  Russian  deserters  in  the 
service  of  the  Shah.  They  always  fought  well.  The  regiment  no  longer 
exists. 


344  TREATY  OF  TOORKOMAX  CHAEE.  NOTE  D. 

NOTE  (D.).    Page  103. 

TOORK.OMANS.  r 

Treaty  of  Toorkoman  Chaee  —  Encroachments  of  Russia  —  Russian 
"  protection"  —  Occupation  of  Ashoorada  —  Repression  of  Toorko- 
man incursions  —  Russian  naval  strength  in  the  Caspian. 

THE  treaty  of  Toorkoman  Chaee  was  a  crushing,  almost  a 
death  blow,  to  Persia  ;  and  yet  we  may  rejoice  that  it  was 
no  worse,  for  the  Czar  was  "  master  of  the  situation,"  his 
troops  being  at  the  Kaplan  Kooh,  ready  to  march  into  Irak. 
Ignorance  saved  Persia.  Had  Russia  known  then  as  well 
as  she  now  does  the  value  of  Azerbijan — commercial,  poli- 
tical, and  material — its  richness  in  corn,  mineral  produc- 
tions, and  soldiers,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  province, 
too,  would  have  been  absorbed  by  the  "  Holy"  Empire. 

It  was  not  until  he  saw  his  kingdom  lying  prostrate  that 
the  sovereign  of  Persia  could  be  induced  to  let  loose  the 
savings  of  his  lengthened  reign.  Even  then  great  talent, 
tact,  and  the  ascendency  of  a  strong  mind  over  an  inferior 
capacity,  were  needed  to  unlock  his  hoards.  Sir  John 
M'Neill  saved  Persia.  Though  he  had  then  been  only  a  few 
years  in  that  country,  it  was  to  his  influence  and  arguments 
alone  that  the  Shah  would  yield.  Russia  extorted  the  over- 
whelming sum  of  two  millions  sterling  on  the  pretence  of 
defraying  the  expenses  of  a  war  provoked  by  her  domineer- 
ing attitude,  and  by  the  aggressive  occupation  of  a  portion 
of  Persian  territoiy. 

It  was  by  this  treaty  that  Russia  completed  her  boundary 
to  the  Aras,  giving  herself  thereby  easy  and  immediate 
access  to  the  cities  of  Tabreez  and  Khoee,  when  the  time 
shall  be  matured  for  the  giant  to  take  another  stride  in 
advance.  The  Aras  does,  however,  make  a  well-defined 
frontier,  obviating  disputes  in  the  adjustment  of  the  line ; 
but  towards  the  mouth  of  that  river  Russia  has  disregarded 
this  desirable  object.  At  the  previous  treaty  of  Goolistan, 
in  1814,  Russia  had  extended  her  territory  150  miles  beyond 
its  banks,  over  more  than  half  the  province  of  Talish.  By 
this  means  the  valuable  Caspian  province  of  Geelan,  "  the 
choicest  province  of  Persia,"  as  Hanway  truly  says,  which 


NOTE  D.     TBEATY  OF  TOORKOMAN  CHAEE.        345 

she  lias  coveted  since  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  which 
that  monarch  occupied  with  his  forces,  lies  at  her  mercy. 

When  we  ourselves  witness  the  difficulty  with  which  the 
vigilance  of  England  was  aroused  to  designs  prepared  at 
our  thresholds  by  the  sovereigns  of  Eussia  in  the  plenitude 
of  their  "  magnanimity,"  our  surprise  need  not  be  excited 
at  its  having  slept  during  the  progress  of  events  in  so  re- 
mote and  obscure  a  spot  as  Persia.  It  ought  rather  to 
create  wonder  that  Russia  did  not  profit  to  a  greater  extent 
by  our  supineness.  The  eyes  of  Eussia  are  now  open  to  the 
value  of  Azerbijan  ;  so  too,  it  may  be  hoped,  are  our  own. 

These  were  not  the  only  blows  inflicted  on  Persia  by  this 
memorable  treaty.  At  the  recent  notable  conferences  of 
Vienna,  Eussia  rejected  with  disdain,  as  insulting  to  her 
dignity  and  independence,  any  proposition  tending  to  the 
limitation  of  her  naval  strength  in  the  Black  Sea.  Let  us 
examine  her  tender  treatment  of  the  dignity  and  indepen- 
dence of  her  weak  neighbour,  in  a  question  of  the  same 
nature. 

The  Caspian  Sea  washes  the  coasts  of  the  Persian  pro- 
vinces of  Talish,  Geelan,  Mazenderan,  Asterabad,  and  Per- 
sian Toorkornania.  The  inhabitants  of  these  spacious  terri- 
tories carry  on  an  extensive  commerce,  in  part  with  the 
Persian  ports  on  that  sea,  in  pail  with  the  Eussian  districts 
on  its  northern  and  western  shores.  AVith  a  far-seeing  policy, 
which  anticipates  all  the  possibilities  of  futurity,  when 
Persia  was  gasping  almost  in  the  last  throes,  Eussia  humbled 
her  to  the  dust,  by  forcing  on  her  the  renewal  of  a  stipula- 
tion contracted  at  the  treaty  of  Goolistan,  by  which  she 
bound  herself  not  to  maintain  any  vessel-of-war  in  the  Cas- 
pian Sea.  Upwards  of  a  hundred  years  ago  an  Englishman 
named  Elton,  a  man  of  wonderful  ability  and  resource,  who 
had  been  brought  up  to  a  seafaring  life,  and  who  had  pre- 
viously been  an  officer  in  the  Eussian  navy,  was  in  the 
service  of  the  Shah  (Nadir),  and  not  only  commanded 
his  naval  forces  in  the  Caspian  Sea,  but  built  ships  for 
him  on  European  models.  The  most  unnautical  uaiion 
in  the  world,  with  an  Englishman  as  their  leader,  be- 
came dominant  on  the  Caspian,  and,  as  the  author  of  the 

Q  3 


,346  RUSSIAN  "  PEOTECTIOX."  XOTE  D. 

'Progress  of  Eussia  in  the  East'  says,  "forced  the  Rus- 
sians to  lower  their  flag"  and  the  banner  with  the  open 
hand  *  floated  triumphantly  through  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  Caspian.  To  preclude  a  revival  of  this  discomfiture, 
Persia  was  forced  to  sign  her  degradation,  and  the  Caspian 
became  a  Eussian  lake.  When  the  Czar  rendered  Persia 
powerless  on  this  inland  sea,  he  was  heedless  of  the  fact 
that  the  Toorkoman  pirates  of  the  Eastern  coast  near  the 
Goorgan  and  the  Atrek  were  accustomed  to  make  descents 
in  their  boats  on  the  Persian  shores,  to  kidnap  the  inhabit- 
ants and  carry  them  into  slavery.  True,  he  was  ready  to 
make  compensation,  by  sending  his  own  vessels-of-war  to 
"  protect "  the  Persian  coast  from  depredation  ;  but  the  real 
meaning  of  imperial  protection  is  not  unknown  in  Persia, 
and  for  a  long  time  this  proffer  was  regarded  in  the  light  of 
the  Persian  fable  of  the  frog  who  invited  the  snake  to  guard 
his  dwelling.  Unfortunately  an  event  occurred  several 
years  afterwards  which  placed  them  in  the  poor  frog's  pre- 
dicament, and  which,  though  not  strictly  bearing  on  the 
treaty  of  Toorkoman  Chaee,  as  it  refers  to  the  Caspian,  may 
be  introduced  here. 

The  small  sandy  island  of  Ashoorada  is  situated  in  the  gulf 
or  bay  of  Asterabad,  about  twelve  miles  from  the  coast  near- 
est to  that  city,  which  is  twenty  miles  from  the  sea.  In 
size  it  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length,  -and  less  than  a 
mile  in  width.  The  water  is  deep  in  its  vicinity ;  and  its 
lee  affords  a  secure  shelter  in  a  gale  from  any  direction. 
Hitherto  it  has  been  uninhabited.  Twelve  or  thirteen  years 
ago  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  Eussia,  by  one  of  those  pro- 
tective processes  of  which  we  have  lately  heard  so  much. 
Its  advantages  as  a  naval  station  had  not  escaped  the  obser- 
vation and  cupidity  of  Eussia.  It  commands  the  entrance 
to  the  bay,  menaces  that  portion  of  the  coast  inhabited  by 
the  Yemoot  Toorkomans,  and  intercepts  the  commerce 
with  Mazenderan,  on  which  the  stationary  tribes  of  that 


*  The  banner  of  Persia  is  surmounted  by  can  open  hand,  of  which 
the  five  fingers  are  said  to  express  Mahonimed,  Ali,  Fatma,  Hassan,  and 
Hoossein. 


NOTE  D.  EUSSIAN  "  PROTECTION."  047 

race  chiefly  depend  for  subsistence.  The  island  possesses 
sources  of  sweet  spring-water,  together  with  a  climate  re- 
markable on  that  coast  for  its  salubrity.  The  inner  side  has 
sufficient  depth  of  water  to  float  a  brig-of-war,  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  beach.  These  are  some  of  the  inducements 
which  led  to  the  occupation  of  this  spot  of  Persian  territory 
by  the  Eussian  government,  which  act  was  perpetrated  in 
18-41,  immediately  after  the  catastrophe  of  Cabul  became 
known.  At  that  time  Persia  was  ruled  by  Mahommed 
Shah,  a  monarch  of  whose  wisdom  much  cannot  be  said. 
He  had  for  minister  a  man  who  was  half  mad  and  whole 
Russian.  He  was  a  native  of  Erivan,  in  Russia,  and  often 
proclaimed  himself  to  be  a  subject  of  that  empire.  This 
was  the  notorious  Hajee  Meerza  Aghassee,  who,  from  tutor 
to  the  royal  family,  was  raised  at  once  to  the  vezeership. 
Russia  was  asked  to  lend  Persia  for  a  short  time  one  or  two 
small  ships  of  war,  to  hold  in  check  the  Toorkomans  resid- 
ing between  Asterabad  and  the  Toorkoman  settlement  of 
Hassan  Koolee,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Atrek.  With  the  most 
amiable  and  neighbourly  cordiality  she  replied  that  she 
would  save  Persia  all  trouble,  and  come  herself  to  chastise 
the  marauders.  Two  vessels  of  war  forthwith  appeared, 
and  soon  after  established  themselves  at  Ashoorada,  from 
whence  they  have  never  since  moved.  Complaint  and  re- 
monstrance were  met  by  counter  charges  of  ingratitude,  and 
by  indignant  expostulation  at  this  offensive  display  of  dis- 
trust. It  is  not  surprising  that  there  should  be  a  reluctance 
to  depart.  The  position  is  a  good  one  ;  for,  besides  over- 
awing the  Toorkomans,  it  also  controls  Mazenderan.  The 
most  complete  possession  has  been  taken  of  the  island.  It 
is  covered  with  residences,  hospitals,  barracks ;  and  soil 
has  been  conveyed  to  it  for  the  construction  of  gardens.  In 
short,  there  is  every  evidence  of  permanent  occupation  and 
retention. 

The  sea-going  Toorkomans  have  been  brought  raider 
complete  control.  Some  have  been  sent  to  Siberia,  or  to 
Russia  Proper.  Not  a  boat  is  allowed  to  move  without  a 
passport,  under  heavy  penalties ;  and  even  Persian  boats 
are  under  the  same  restriction ;  this,  too,  on  the  coast  of 


348  THE  XESTORIAXS.  NOTE  E. 

their  own  sea !  Since  the  occupation  of  the  island  a  consul 
has  been  placed  at  Asterabad,  so  that,  with  the  consul  on 
one  side  and  the  commodore  on  the  other,  Mazenderan  also 
is  on  a  hopeful  road  to  protection. 

True,  the  incursions  of  the  Toorkomans  have  nearly 
ceased.  But  the  Persians  say,  and  with  justice,  that  an 
occasional  chepawool  of  these  pirates  was  less  irksome  than 
the  presence  and  interference  of  consul  and  commodore. 

No  attempt  has  yet  succeeded  for  forming  an  establish- 
ment on  the  mainland  among  the  Toorkomans.  When  the 
day  for  that  arrives,  the  Goorgan  will  doubtless  receive  a 
preference.  Its  banks  are  on  the  high-road  to  Meshed,  and 
are  covered  with  the  richest  pastures ;  and  the  climate  and 
the  soil  are  suited  for  the  production  of  abundant  harvests 
of  corn.  No  fitter  spot  could  be  found  for  subsisting  an 
army,  or  for  being  made  the  basis  of  a  plan  of  military  ope- 
rations to  the  East. 

The  naval  strength  of  Russia  in  the  Caspian  is  not  easily 
ascertained  with  correctness.  It  is  believed  to  amount  to 
four  or  five  small  steamers  and  a  few  brigs  and  schooners 
of  war,  the  largest  not  carrying  more  than  eighteen  guns  ; 
but  her  supremacy  is  as  complete  as  that  of  England  in  the 
Irish  Channel. 

Unfortunately  for  Persia  she  has  taken  no  share  in  the 
present  war.  If  she  had  done  so,  her  frontier  would,  per- 
haps, have  undergone  revision,  and  her  sea  have  been  made 
free.  Even  under  present  circumstances,  perhaps,  she  will 
not  be  overlooked. 


NOTE  (E.).    Page  212. 
THE  NESTORIANS. 

Nestorian  khaleefa,  or  bishop  —  Church  service  —  Religious  opinions 
—  Preparation  of  a  khaleefa  —  Their  sufferings  from  the  Afshars  — 
American  mission  —  French  Lazarists  —  Sectarian  disputes  —  Inter- 
ference of  Russia  —  Question  of  descent. 

DURING  my  residence  in  Ooroomeeya,  in  the  year  1835,  I 
was  brought  into  communication  with  the  Chaldsean  or 
Nestorian  inhabitants,  particularly  the  clergy  of  that  city. 


NOTE  E.  THE  XESTORIAXS.  349 

My  mission  being  of  a  nature  unconnected  with,  proselytism, 
and  addressed  to  the  body  rather  than  to  the  soul,  to  the 
making  of  soldiers  rather  than  of  saints,  it  is  probable  that 
their  disclosures  relative  to  their  religion  were  more  candid 
than  when  addressed  to  the  missionaries  of  France  or 
America.  As  the  Nestorians  have  excited  a  good  deal  of 
attention  from  their  geographical  position,  preserving  their 
Christianity  in  the  seclusion  and  amid  the  barbarism  of  the 
Koordistan  mountains,  I  make  some  extracts  from  my  note- 
book of  those  days.  If  the  result  of  my  inquiries  some- 
times differs  from  those  of  the  American  or  French  mis- 
sionaries, I  cannot  explain  the  cause  of  the  discrepancy  ex- 
cepting in  the  manner  I  have  alluded  to  above. 

Septemt>er  4th,  1835.  —  A  Nestorian  khaleefa.  or  bishop, 
called  on  me  to-day.  His  only  language  was  Kaldanee, 
the  same  word  doubtless  as  Chaldsean,  which  occasioned  a 
troublesome  double  interpretation  from  that  language  to 
Turkish,  and  then  to  Persian.  He  was  a  strange-looking 
member  of  the  episcopacy.  He  wore  an  enormous  red  and- 
yellow  pair  of  trousers,  an  immense  red  and-black  turban, 
and  was  furnished  with  a  stout  beard.  His  abba,  or  camel 's- 
hair  cloak,  was  tattered,  and  altogether  his  see  did  not 
appear  a  very  thriving  one,  though  this  appearance  of  indi- 
gence might  have  been  feigned  as  a  defence  against  Mus- 
sulman extortion.  He  had  come  two  years  ago  from  the 
mountains  of  Koordistan,  where  he  said  the  Xestorians 
were  numerous,  to  take  charge  of  that  community  in  the 
plains.  Though  acquainted  with  the  word  Nestooree,  it 
was,  he  said,  rejected  by  his  people,  who  disavowed  Xes- 
torius ;  and  he  affirmed  that  the  word  intended  to  be  used 
was  Nesseranee,  a  common  expression  over  the  East  for 
Christians,  and  derived  from  Nazareth :  Kaldanee  was  the 
name,  he  said,  of  his  nation  and  language,  the  latter  bearing 
a  strong  resemblance  to  Syriac,  and  much  affinity  with 
Arabic.  Mar  Shimoon  (Great  Simon),  he  said,  was  the 
name  of  his  chief  or  Patriarch,  who  lived  at  Kojamis,  near 
Joolumerk,  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains.  Great  Simon, 
accoixling  to  his  account,  must  be  a  very  great  man,  for  he 
can  muster  an  army  of  fifteen  thousand  men,  all  Cliristians, 


350  THE  NESTORIANS.  NOTE  E. 

who  belong  chiefly  to  the  mountain  districts  of  Toqoobee 
and  Teearee.  In  short,  he  is  a  downright  pope.  I  asked 
the  bishop  if  he  had  any  objection  to  niy  attending  divine 
service  in  his  village — to  which  he  replied  it  would  be  a 
favour  to  his  community.  I  inquired,  if  Englishmen  came 
among  them  to  instruct  and  educate  them,  how  they  would 
be  received.  He  replied,  with  honour  and  joy.  He  added 
that  they  did  not  wish  for  Feringhees  (Frenchmen,  no 
doubt),  as  they  were  Qatoleeqs  (Catholics),  yet  if  they  did 
come,  being  strangers,  and  from  a  distant  land,  they  would 
be  kindly  received.  At  parting  he  gave  me  an  apostolic 
benediction,  and  wished  my  friends  in  heaven  and  my  ene- 
mies to  the  devil. 

September  1th,  Sunday. — To-day  I  went  to  the  Nestorian 
church.  It  was  in  a  village  near  the  town,  surrounded  by 
beautiful  gardens.  I  found  the  bishop  standing  in  the 
village,  apparently  superintending  the  slaughter  of  an  ox. 
As  he  had  no  signs  of  praying  about  him,  I  asked  him  if  I 
were  late,  and  if  prayers  were  over — to  which  he  answered 
that  he  had  deferred  the  service  on  my  account.  AYe  then 
proceeded  to  the  church,  and,  by  a  door  three  feet  in  height 
(these  small  dimensions  being,  no  doubt,  intended  for  secu- 
rity), we  entered  a  dark  room  twenty  feet  square,  the  floor 
of  which  was  covered  with  a  few  pieces  of  matting.  There 
were  three  brick  structures,  which  seemed  to  be  altars,  for 
on  them  books  were  placed,  and  in  one  comer  lay  a  large 
bundle  of  firewood. 

The  service  was  simple  enough.  The  bishop  had  a  single 
attendant,  who,  I  suppose,  was  a  priest,  and  not  at  all  a 
reputable-looking  son  of  the  church.  The  bishop  was  not 
decked  in  vestments  or  clerical  garments  of  any  kind ;  and 
the  priest  put  on  only  a  white  band  round  his  neck,  wilh 
another  round  his  waist,  ornamented  with  a  cross.  On  the 
middle  altar  there  was  a  lamp  burning  ;  and  during  prayers 
a  vessel  containing  very  strong  incense  was  occasionally 
swung.  They  applied  it  to  the  books  on  the  altar  (the 
Scriptures,  no  doubt),  to  a  figure  of  the  cross,  the  bishop's 
beard,  the  priest's  face,  then  to  mine,  to  the  great  discom- 
fiture of  my  nose  and  eyes,  and  then  a  small  dose  was  ad- 


NOTE  E.  THE  XESTOEIAXS.  351 

ministered  to  the  rest  of  the  congregation  \vhen  it  arrived. 
The  bishop  and  priest  sang  and  chanted  alternately.  They 
remained  in  a  standing  position,  excepting  when  they  read 
the  bible,  when  they  sat.  Their  mode  of  reading  the  Scrip- 
ture resembled  the  monotonous,  though  far  from  uupleasing, 
recitative  intonation  used  in  reading  the  Koran.  From  the 
near  connexion  of  Arabic  and  Kaldanee,  and  from  the  ap- 
parent metrical  division  of  the  verses,  it  also  bore  a  strong 
similarity  to  the  Koran.  For  a  long  time  I  and  my  two 
Mussulman  servants  formed  the  entire  congregation.  The 
priest  appeared  to  get  ashamed  of  so  scanty  an  attendance, 
for  a  boy,  peeping  in  at  the  door,  was  apparently  sent  to 
collect  an  audience,  which  soon  after  appeared,  represented 
by  half  a  dozen  of  men  and  a  few  women.  The  men  kissed 
the  bishop's  hand,  mine,  and  that  of  the  priest  more  than  once. 
The  behaviour  of  the  khaleefa  was  tolerably  respectful. 
The  priest,  who  was  constantly  yawning,  seemed  heartily 
tired  of  his  occupation,  and  was  continually  talking  in  a 
most  irreverent  manner  to  the  congregation,  who  imitated 
his  example. 

In  the  church  there  was  not  a  single  picture  or  image, 
and,  in  answer  to  my  inquiry,  they  said  such  things  were 
never  permitted  by  their  religion. 

After  the  service  we  went  to  the  bishop's  house  to  eat 
fruit ;  the  habitation  was  poor,  but  clean.  The  subject  of 
religion  being  soon  introdxiced,  I  took  the  opportunity  of 
asking  whether  according  to  their  creed  Christ  was  God  or 
man — to  which  some  of  the  company  replied,  that  he  was 
a  Peyghember,  meaning  a  Prophet  in  Persian.  The  bishop 
got  hold  of  the  word,  and  talked  to  them  in  Kaldanee  with 
much  warmth.  The  discussion  ended  by  their  saying  they 
could  not  take  on  themselves  to  declare  whether  he  was 
God  or  man ;  that  they  did  not  like  to  assert  he  was  God, 
and  were  equally  averse  to  pronounce  him  to  be  only  a 
man  ;  farther,  they  affirmed  that  he  had  existed  before 
Adam,  and,  like  God,  had  always  been. 

This  was  all  the  information  I  could  obtain  on  the 
mooted  point,  what  attributes  the  Xestorians  ascribe  to  the 
second  Person  of  the  Trinity.  Some  years  after  the  above 


352  THE  NESTORIANS.  NOTE  E. 

conversation  I  was  assured  by  an  American  missionary  to 
the  Kaldanees  that  their  belief  was  in  perfect  accordance 
with  that  of  the  Churches  of  Rome  and  England  ;  while  a 
Lazarist  missionary  to  the  Catholic  Kaldanees  near  Ooroo- 
meeya  affirmed,  with  equal  positiveness,  that  their  disbelief 
in  Christ's  Godhead  was  complete. 

The  fact  seems  to  be  that  the  Nestorians  assign  too  literal 
an  interpretation  to  the  maxim  of  being  all  things  to  all 
men.  Centuries  of  oppression  and  misgovernment  have 
made  them  too  eager  in  yielding  their  opinions  to  those 
persons  with  whom  they  converse,  if  the  latter  happen  to 
be  superior  in  station ;  hence  the  difficulty  in  ascertaining 
their  real  belief.  Dr.  Grant,  of  the  American  mission,  looks 
on  the  Kestorians  as  nearly  entitled  to  the  dignity  of  being 
classed  as  '•  sound  Protestants."  Yet  the  following  is  the 
account  of  their  religious  condition  given  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Dwight  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  two  American  missionaries 
who  preceded  Dr.  Grant  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Perkins  in  their 
researches  at  Ooroomeeya,  and  who  complained  of  the  dif- 
ficulty they  experienced  in  arriving  at  a  conclusive  opinion 
on  this  subject.  They  positively  recognise  the  divinity  and 
humanity  of  Christ  in  one  Person,  but  the  Spirit  proceeds 
from  the  Father  alone.  There  are  seven  sacraments,  bap- 
tism, eucharist,  ordination,  marriage,  burial,  confirmation, 
confession  ;  but  not  auricular  confession,  which  some  of 
them  say  is  found  in  their  ancient  books,  but  is  not  now 
practised.  The  laity  take  the  bread  and  the  wine  at  com- 
munion ;  the  elements  cease  to  be  bread  and  wine  after 
consecration  ;  transubstantiation  takes  place,  and  a  sacrifice 
is  offered  up  in  the  mass.  They  fast  abundantly,  and  eat 
no  animal  food  at  such  periods.  They  abstain  from  labour 
on  festivals,  and  celebrate  the  feast  of  the  Assumption ;  but 
they  hesitate  to  recognise  the  fact.  They  read  the  Scrip- 
ture a  good  deal ;  the  canonical  books  are  the  same  as  in 
the  Catholic  church.  The  Church  service  is  not  understood 
by  the  people  at  large,  being  in  Estrangelo,  or  old  Syriac ; 
but  there  are  translations  for  their  use.  They  pray  to  the 
saints,  and  regard  them  as  mediators.  Hell  is  eternal. 
Masses  and  prayers  are  said  for  the  dead,  but  purgatoiy  is 


NOTE  E.  THE  NESTORIANS.  353 

denied.  Bishops  cannot  marry,  or  eat  meat;  the  clergy 
may  marry,  but  those  who  do  so  are  not  eligible  as  bishops. 
There  are  monasteries  for  monks,  and  convents  for  nuns, 
who  take  vows  of  celibacy,  seclusion,  &c.  They  oifer  sacri- 
fice of  animals  to  remove  sickness,  &c.  One  of  the  autho- 
rities of  these  American  missionaries  was  a  bishop  of 
twenty.  The  bishops  did  not  all  agree  in  the  exposition 
of  their  creed. 

To  resume  my  note-book.  I  asked  if  they  confessed  their 
sins  to  the  bishop,  and  if  he  pronounced  a  pardon  of  their 
offences.  This  inquiry  produced  a  long,  loud,  and  hot  dis- 
cussion in  Kaldanee.  The  bishop  was  very  energetic,  but 
could  get  no  one  to  listen  to  him.  At  last  it  was  decided 
that  confession  was  not  admitted  in  their  church,  and  that 
none  besides  God  could  forgive  sin.  As  I  before  observed, 
the  Nestorians  are  sometimes  accused  of  regulating  their 
profession  of  faith  according  to  the  supposed  opinions  of 
the  inquirers.  In  this  instance  I  was,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
regarded  as  a  Protestant ;  but  had  my  Chaldaean  friends 
been  aware  of  my  being  a  Catholic,  their  replies  might  per- 
chance have  been  different. 

When  a  man  intends  to  have  a  son  a  khaleefa,  for  three 
years  before  the  birth  of  the  prospective  bishop  his  mother 
must  abstain  from  flesh  of  every  description.  If  instead  of 
a  son  a  daughter  is  born,  the  latter  neither  eats  meat  nor 
marries  during  her  life.  The  khaleefaship  seems  to  be  con- 
fined to  families.  A  khaleefa,  for  instance,  dies  ;  his  brother 
or  sister  sets  about  producing  another  should  the  defunct 
bishop  have  no  nephews. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  my  intercourse  with  the  Nes- 
torians  or  Chaldasans  of  Ooroomeeya.  Neither  they  nor  I 
then  guessed  how  much  more  intimate  our  connexion  was 
to  become.  When  subsequently  my  position  was  altered, 
and  that  circumstances  enabled  me  to  befriend  the  Chris- 
tians living  in  this  secluded  spot,  I  did  not  fail  to  aid  them 
to  the  extent  of  my  power.  Their  sufferings  were  chiefly 
owing  to  the  oppressions  of  the  Afshars,  which  are  both 
incredible  and  indescribable.  I  myself  saw  enough  to  con- 
vince me  that  they  did  not  repose  on  a  bed  of  roses.  Their 


354  THE  NESTOmm  NOTE  E. 

daughters  are  carried  off  and  forcibly  married  to  Mussul- 
mans ;  their  young  sons  are  often  compelled  to  embrace 
Mahommedanism ;  and  the  needy  Afshar  nobles  extort 
money  from  their  helpless  ryots  by  extraordinary  modes  of 
torture.  So  at  least  we  are  told;  though,  to  say  the  truth, 
I  have  always  thought  that  invention  was  not  backward  in 
these  narrations.  "With  the  aid  of  my  agreeable  and  astute 
colleague,  Count  Alexander  Medem,  the  liussian  Minister 
at  Tehran,  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  unusual  privileges  for 
this  community.  A  Christian  chief,  a  refugee  from  Georgia, 
and  a  colonel  in  the  Persian  army,  was  placed  over  them 
as  superintendent,  with  a  general  charge  of  their  affairs, 
to  protect  them  from  violence  and  extortion.  "When  their 
brethren,  subjects  of  the  Sublime  Porte  in  the  hitherto  in- 
accessible mountains  of  Tokoobee  and  Teearee,  were  suffer- 
ing desolation  from  fire  and  sword  at  the  hands  of  Bedr 
Khan  Bey,  the  savage  chief  of  Bohtan,  the  Nestorians  of 
Ooroomeeya  were  enjoying  unwonted  security  in  person 
and  property. 

More  than  this,  sympathy  for  this  race  came  from  no  less 
a  place  than  America,  where  one  would  think  they  had 
enough  of  their  own,  red  and  black,  to  educate  or  convert, 
without  wandering  to  the  sequestered  valley  of  Ooroomeeya 
in  quest  of  the  sons  of  Shem.  They  have,  however,  done 
so,  and  have  succeeded,  as  was  to  be  anticipated  when  zeal, 
intelligence,  and  wealth  were  brought  into  action.  Soon 
after  my  arrival  Dr.  Grant,  of  the  New  England  Independent 
Church,  made  his  appearance  at  Ooroomeeya,  where  he  was 
shortly  followed  by  the  Eev.  Mr.  Perkins.  Dr.  Grant,  a 
man  of  great  activity  and  energy,  was  gathered  to  his 
fathers  some  years  ago  at  Moosul,  owing  to  a  malady  con- 
tracted in  his  vocation  ;  but  Mr.  Perkins,  who  is  distin- 
guished for  his  scholastic  acquirements,  is  the  head  of  the 
flourishing  American  mission  of  which  they  then  planted 
the  germs.  Gradually  their  compatriots,  both  men  and 
women,  increased  in  number,  according  as  the  object  of 
their  wealth)7  society  was  developed,  and  when  a  position 
on  a  strong  foundation  was  established.  They  are  now  a 
colony.  They  were  warmly  received  by  the  Nestorians, 


XOTE  E.  THE  XESTORIAXS.  355 

whom  they  professed  only  to  educate,  and  were  freely 
allowed  to  pray  and  discourse  in  the  churches.  Two  years 
ago  they  were  thirty-eight  Americans  in  number,  men, 
women,  and  children,  who  enjoy  English  protection.  They 
have  their  town  house  and  their  country  house  in  the  neigh- 
bouring hills,  fortified  sufficiently  to  resist  a  predatoiy 
incursion  of  Koords.  The  entire  educational  management 
of  the  Nestorian  youth,  of  both  sexes,  has  been  in  their 
hands  during  many  years.  As  they  profess  not  to  prose- 
lytize, I  designedly  refrain  from  adding  that  their  religious 
instruction  is  equally  under  the  control  of  these  reverend 
gentlemen,  though  this  point  was  often  the  subject  of  good- 
humoured  discussion  between  them,  and  me  ;  I  maintaining, 
as  well  I  might,  that  practically  education  by  them  was 
conversion.  The  clergy  seem  to  be  entirely  in  their  hands, 
many  of  the  most  influential  among  the  episcopacy  re- 
ceiving salaries  as  teachers.  Their  schools  for  boys  and 
girls  are  numerous,  and  thronged  with  pupils,  who  receive 
not  only  instruction,  but,  I  believe,  a  small  monthly 
allowance,  when  necessary,  for  subsistence.  That  mighty 
regenerator,  a  printing  pi-ess,  has  been  established,  and 
is  in  constant  operation ;  and  when  I  left  Persia  there 
was  an  electric  telegraph  in  course  of  construction  to  com- 
municate between  the  town  and  country  establishments  of 
the  mission. 

All  this  training  must  necessarily  produce  fruit ;  the  pre- 
sence, example,  and  instruction  of  such  men  cannot  fail  to 
do  their  work ;  and  I  doubt  not  that  a  change  is  taking  place, 
which  in  a  generation  or  two  will  produce  a  vast  improvement 
in  the  moral  and  intellectual  condition  of  the  Kestorians. 

Yet  I  cannot  go  the  length  of  a  foreign  diplomatist  of 
distinguished  literary  reputation,  whom  I  once  accidentally 
met  in  a  railway  carriage,  and  who  declared,  with  a  heat 
which  could  not  brook  opposition,  but  which  enthusiasm 
might  sanction,  that  the  regeneration  of  Persia  was  to  pro- 
ceed from  the  American  missionary  establishment ;  but  as 
his  excellency,  with  equal  tenacity,  maintained  that  the 
pn-sont  Christian  movement,  as  he  was  pleased  to  call  it,  in 
( 'liina,  was  infallibly  a  token  of  Chinese  regeneration,  civili- 


356  THE  NESTORIAXS.  NOTE  E. 

zation,  progress,  and  what  not,  I  felt  no  disposition  to 
relinquish  the  plain  and  obvious  conjecture  that  the  civili- 
zation of  Persia  is,  according  to  the  ordinary  course  of  events, 
to  proceed  from.  England,  Eussia,  and  Turkey.  Persia  has 
already  made  some  advance.  She  is  different  from  what 
she  was  twenty  years  ago  ;  and  this  can  be  only  owing  to 
an  infusion  of  European  ideas. 

This  American  rose-garden  could  not  remain  altogether 
free  from  thistles,  and  the  thistle  was  a  rival  establishment. 
The  Kaldanees,  or  Chaldasans,  are  divided  into  two  religions, 
the  one  of  the  Nestorian  faith,  the  other  of  the  Church  of 
Eome.  The  former  are  numerous  in  the  valley  of  Oooroo- 
rneeya,  amounting  to  perhaps  400  families ;  while  the 
Catholics  are  few.  But  in  the  adjoining  district  of  Salmas, 
between  Ooroomeeya  and  Khooe,  the  Catholic  Kaldanees  are 
a  considerable  body.  "When  the  American  establishment 
in  Ooroomeeya  became  known,  the  Propaganda  at  Rome 
felt  alarm  at  the  danger  to  which  its  flock  was  exposed; 
and  though  some  of  the  priests  at  Salmas  had  been  educated 
at  Eome,  it  was  considered  that  European  energy  only  could 
stem  the  torrent  from  the  western  hemisphere.  Some 
French  Lazarist  missionaries  were  despatched  to  the  rescue 
in  the  persons  of  Pere  Cluzel,  Pere  Darnis,  and  one  or  two 
others.  These  gentlemen  abounded  in  zeal  and  activity ; 
but  they  were  poor,  and  wholly  unable  to  contend  against 
the  treasures  of  Boston  and  the  paraphernalia  which  gave 
so  much  brilliancy  to  the  operations  emanating  from  Ooroo- 
meeya. It  was  as  much  as  they  could  do  to  hold  their  own 
ground,  and  preserve  their  flock  from  the  invaders.  As 
might  be  surmised,  dissensions  followed.  There  were  accusa- 
tions and  recriminations.  I  advised  each  party  to  cultivate 
his  own  vineyard,  to  guard  his  own  flock,  to  eschew  con- 
tention and  rivalry,  of  which  the  result  might  be  the 
expulsion  of  both  missionary  establishments.  This  advice 
was  adopted  ;  and  if  there  has  been  any  want  of  that  charity 
to  which  both  appealed  so  often,  there  has  been  at  least  an 
absence  of  open  hostility. 

The  French  missionaries  had,  in  fact,  a  narrow  escape  of 
expulsion  through  the  hostility  of  the  Eussian  Government, 


NOTE  E.  THE  NESTOEIANS.  357 

which  even  proceeded  to  the  length  of  extorting  a  firman 
from  the  late  Shah  prohibiting  Christians  from  changing 
their  religion.  The  intention  was  to  prevent  conversion 
among  the  Armenians  to  other  creeds,  Catholic,  Protestant, 
or  Nestorian.  The  Patriarch  of  the  Armenians  of  that  part 
of  the  world  being  a  resident  in  Kussia,  the  Emperor  perhaps 
considered  himself  in  a  measure  the  head  of  that  church. 
When  Mahommed  Shah  died,  and  his  Muscovite  Minister 
Hajee  Meerza  Aghasee  ceased  to  reign  (for  he  in  reality  was 
the  sovereign),  the  Persian  Government  was  persuaded  to 
revoke  that  obnoxious  edict,  and  Christians  are  again  free  to 
choose  their  own  faith. 

Who  are  the  Kaldanees  ?  I  have  ended  with  the  begin- 
ning. According  to  the  opinion  of  that  enterprising  tra- 
veller and  zealous  missionary,  my  friend  the  late  Dr.  Grant, 
who  by  his  researches  was  well  qualified  to  form  an  accurate 
judgment  on  the  subject,  they  are  a  remnant  of  Israel,  a 
relic  of  the  ten  tribes  carried  into  captivity  by  Shalma- 
nezer,  the  King  of  Assyria.  The  investigations  of  that 
American  gentleman  were  not  limited  to  the  plain  of  Ooroo- 
meeya.  In  his  double  capacity  of  missionary  and  physician, 
he  had  enjoyed  opportunities  for  inquiry  among  the 
Kestorians  in  Amadia,  among  the  independent  tribes  of  the 
same  sect  (for  then  at  least  they  were  independent)  who 
dwell  in  the  almost  inaccessible  fastnesses  of  the  Koordistan 
mountains,  at  Tearee,  Tokoobee,  Joolamerk,  &c.  The  con- 
clusion he  has  reached  has  been  derived  from  a  variety  of 
circumstances.  They  themselves  maintain  their  claim  to 
this  descent.  The  Jews  of  the  same  districts  admit  the  justice 
of  this  pretension.  They  both,  Jews  and  Nestorians,  speak 
nearly  a  similar  dialect  of  a  language  derived  from  the 
ancient  Syriac.  Dr.  Grant  asserts  that  the  Kestorians  still 
retain  much  of  the  ceremonial  of  the  old  law.  They  offer 
the  sacrifice  of  peace-offerings,  also  first-fruits ;  the  Sunday 
is  strictly  observed ;  their  government  is  a  theocracy,  like 
that  of  the  Jews  in  relation  to  the  High  Priest;  they  detest 
pork  as  cordially  as  the  recognised  sons  of  Abraham  ;  places 
of  refuge  from  blood  are  still  retained,  though  in  the  form 
of  churches  instead  of  cities. 


358  JOURNEY  TO  KHIVA.  NOTE  F. 

Dr.  Grant  estimates  the  total  of  the  Kaldanee  nation, 
Catholic*  and  Nestorian,  in  Persia,  Koordistan,  and  Turkey, 
at  about  200,000  souls,  and  that  those  living  in  Koordistan 
are  not  much  less  than  half  that  number.  Of  these,  the 
number  attached  to  the  Church  of  Rome  is  comparatively 
few. 


NOTE  (F.).     Page  256. 
KHIVA. 

Journey  to  Khiva :  Moozderan  —  Serrekhs  —  Toorkoman  horses  — 
Merve  —  The  desert  —  Services  of  crows  —  The  oasis  —  Uzbek 
customs  —  Mode  of  extorting  confession  —  Night  visit  to  the  Khan 
of  Khiva  —  Statistics  —  Designs  of  Russia. 

Ix  1740  two  Englishmen,  named  Thomson  and  Hogg,  un- 
dertook, almost  alone,  a  most  enterprising  journey  from 
Asiatic  Russia,  through  the  deserts  of  the  Kirgheez,  to 
Khiva.  Their  adventures  are  shortly  described  in  Jonas 
Han  way.  These  are  probably  the  first  Englishmen  who 
beheld  that  Uzbek  capital.  Commerce,  that  unraveller  of 
countries,  led  them  to  undertake  this  journey.  They  re- 
turned in  safety.  In  1819,  Mouraview,  now  of  course  dubbed 
Karski,  the  hero,  but  not  the  real  one,  of  Kars,  made  a  jour- 
ney from  the  Caspian  to  Khiva,  of  which  he  has  written  a 
description.  Then  followed  Abbott,  Shakespeare,  Conolly. 
The  following  note  is  taken  from  the  journal  of  Mr. 
Thomson,  secretary  to  Her  Majesty's  Legation  in  Persia, 
who  went  from  Tehran  to  Khiva,  thirteen  years  ago,  under 
peculiar  circumstances,  in  the  company  of  an  Uzbek  Elchee 
to  the  Shah,  who  was  returning  to  that  country.  More  fortu- 
nate than  poor  Stoddart  and  Conolly  in  their  expedition  to 
the  rival  Uzbek  state  of  Bokhara,  Mr.  Thomson  returned 
in  safety  from  his  perilous  undertaking.  He  had  run  the 
ordeal  of  being  at  Khiva  during  the  catastrophe  at  Cabul, 


*  Dr.  Grant  says  the  word  "  Kaldauee,"  or  "  Chaldpcan  "  is  usually 
applied  to  the  Catholics  of  this  tribe,  while  the  others  are  called 
Nestorians.  Thi.3  is  very  contrary  to  my  impression,  which  is,  that  the 
whole  nation  is  called  Kaldanee,  and  the  divisions  are  Nestorian  and 
Catholic. 


NOTEF.  MOOZDERAN  —  SERREKHS.  359 

and  may  be  said  to  have  had  a  wonderful  escape.  It  was 
only  his  own  dexterity,  resolution,  and  knowledge  of  eastern 
character  which  saved  him  from  the  unhappy  lot  of  his 
countrymen. 

"  From  Meshed  to  Moozderan  is  about  fifty-five  miles. 
This  is  the  frontier  station  of  Persia  on  the  road  to  Merve, 
and  is  occupied  only  by  a  small  military  guard,  to  watch 
the  movements  of  the  Toorkomans,  and  give  speedy  intelli- 
gence of  their  inroads  from  this  side  of  the  desert.  It  is 
situated  at  the  top  of  the  pass  leading  to  Serrekhs,  and  the 
guards  find  security  in  round  towers  loopholed  above,  with 
a  low  entrance  at  the  foot,  which  can  be  readily  barricaded 
when  any  suspicious-looking  parties  are  observed  in  the 
distance.  At  night,  the  guards  being  few,  they  do  not  in 
times  of  danger  venture  to  remain  outside  the  tower,  and 
on  retiring  to  their  hold  they  sweep  the  ground  across  the 
narrow  ravine,  and  are  thus  enabled  at  break  of  day  to 
ascertain  what  number  of  people  have  passed,  whether  foot 
or  horse,  and  give  notice  to  the  nearest  station  in  what 
direction  the  plunderers  have  gone.  From  Moozderan  to 
Serrekhs,  about  fifty  miles,  is  desert  and  destitute  of 
water.  It  is  situated  on  the  river  Tejjen,  which  at  this 
point  contains  a  considerable  volume  of  water,  but  after 
flowing  some  distance  to  the  north  is  absorbed  by  the 
sand  of  the  desert.  Serrekhs  was  formerly  a  thriving  town, 
celebrated  for  the  excellence  of  its  carpets,  but  having 
been  attacked  in  1832,  and  plundered,  by  Abbas  Meerza, 
grandfather  to  the  present  Shah,  it  has  since  remained  in  a 
state  of  ruin.  A  large  number  of  Toorkomans,  of  the 
Tekkeh  tribe,  occupy  the  lands  in  its  vicinity  and  the 
banks  of  the  river,  and  cultivate  them  to  the  extent  required 
for  their  own  wants.  This  tribe  possesses  the  best  breed  of 
what  are  called  Toorkoman  horses.  It  is  a  cross  bet\veen 
the  Arab  and  native  horse,  in  which  a  good  deal  of  the 
symmetry  of  the  former  is  preserved,  and  in  height,  power, 
and  figure  resembles  the  best  breed  of  carriage  horses  in 
England.  They  are  much  esteemed  by  the  Persians,  and 
good  specimens  find  a  ready  market  in  Tehran,  at  prices 
varying  from  50/.  to  751.  The  road  as  far  as  the  Tejjen  is 


360  MERVE.  NOTE  F. 

firm,  and  adapted  for  the  employment  of  wheeled  carriages, 
but  beyond  it  to  Merve,  a  distance  of  about  110  miles,  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  way  being  koom,  sandy  desert,  guns, 
although  of  small  calibre,  are  with  difficulty  dragged  across 
it.  Water  too  is  nowhere  found  between  the  rivers  Tejjen 
and  Murghaub,  unless  in  one  or  two  cisterns  and  wells. 
In  spring  the  former  is  drinkable,  but  later  in  the  season 
the  traveller  who  cannot  afford  to  transport  it  on  camels, 
in  skins,  must  content  himself  with  the  fetid  and  brackish 
produce  of  the  wells  which  are  found  at  about  ten  or 
twelve  miles  distance  from  each  other.  In  spring  the  dis- 
tance between  these  two  rivers,  and  between  the  Murghaub 
and  the  Oxus,  can,  by  eating  sparingly,  be  passed  without 
suffering  much  from  thirst ;  but  after  the  heats  have  com- 
menced, fluid  of  some  sort,  however  offensive  it  may  be  to 
the  palate  and  smell,  must  be  largely  drunk  to  supply  the 
constant  drain  from  the  system  which  a  temperature  of 
from  115°  to  120°  in  the  shade  creates  ;  and  when  this  has 
been  continued  for  a  week  or  ten  days  consecutively,  the 
degree  of  thirst  to  which  the  wayfarer  is  exposed  may  be 
readily  understood  when  it  is  remembered  that  during  that 
period  he  has  been  forced,  to  obtain  momentary  relief,  to 
swallow  draughts  of  saline  liquid  which  only  add  force  to 
the  insatiable  craving  which  devours  him." 

"  Four  towns  of  the  name  of  Merve  have  existed  at  dif- 
ferent epochs  ;  that  of  the  present  day  hardly  deserves  the 
name,  it  being  only  an  assemblage  of  wretched  huts  com- 
manded by  a  small  mud  fort,  in  which  a  governor  on  the 
part  of  the  Khan  of  Khiva  resides,  and  defended  by  a  few 
patereros  and  swivel  matchlocks.  It  is  the  resting-place 
for  a  few  days  of  all  caravans  passing  between  Persia  and 
Bokhara,  and  has  nothing  to  boast  of  beyond  affording  ac- 
commodation for  travellers,  and  a  small  bazaar  to  supply 
the  wants  of  the  Saruk  and  Salar  tribes  of  Toorkomans  en- 
camped in  its  neighbourhood.  But  the  soil  for  some  dis- 
tance around  is  highly  fertile  ;  and  as  the  Murghaub  affords 
an  abundant  supply  of  water  for  irrigation,  grain,  fruits, 
and  all  the  necessaries  of  life  might  be  raised  to  supply 
the  wants  of  a  veiy  populous  city.  Near  this  still  stands 


NOTE  F.  MERYE.  361 

the  roofless  town  of  Merve  e  Kajjar.  The  streets,  walls  of 
the  houses,  mosques,  and  baths,  still  remain  as  when  it  was 
inhabited,  but  silent  as  the  desert,  for  not  a  human  being 
is  to  be  found  within  its  walls.  This  town  was  built  by 
the  portion  of  the  present  royal  tribe  of  Persia,  when  it  was 
transplanted  from  Georgia  by  Shah  Abbas  the  Great ;  but 
the  town  having  been  captured  about  seventy  years  ago  by 
Shah  Murad  Bey,  the  Uzbek  chief  of  Bokhara,  it  has  re- 
mained unpeopled  since  that  date.  At  some  little  distance 
the  site  of  the  Merve  of  the  days  of  the  Seljukian  dynasty 
is  marked  by  a  number  of  low  hillocks  and  a  single  tomb. 
This  the  tradition  of  the  place  assigns  as  the  resting-place 
of  the  magnificent  Alp  Arselan,  the  second  of  his  line. 
Here  the  wandering  Toorkoman  and  the  followers  of  the 
Soonnee  faith  still  in  passing  alight  from  their  horses,  and 
repeat  a  prayer  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  the  only  known 
tenant  of  the  once  populous  city.  Of  the  Merve  of  remote 
antiquity  no  traces  meet  the  eye,  and  its  site  is  no  longer 
known  by  the  rude  and  ignorant  tribes  which  now  wander 
around  the  proud  capital  of  former  days.  Among  so  bar- 
barous a  race  it  is  gratifying  to  find  that  there  is  one  indi- 
vidual in  whom  interest  can  be  felt — this  is  a  Toorkoman 
Moolla,  who  is  known  by  the  title  of  the  Caliph.  He  is  a 
man  of  a  mild  disposition,  respected  by  the  chiefs  of  the 
neighbouring  principalities;  and  although  active  in  re- 
pressing to  the  best  of  his  ability  the  system  of  kidnapping 
and  traffic  in  slaves,  practised  by  the  people  of  his  tribe, 
has  maintained  a  degree  of  influence  over  them  amounting 
to  veneration.  On  paying  him  a  visit  I  was  much  pleased 
with  the  gentleness  and  courtesy  of  his  manners,  but  some- 
what puzzled  what  to  do  when  presented,  after  tea  had  been 
served,  with  some  of  the  leaves  from  the  teapot,  and  a  lump 
of  sugar  of  about  a  pound  in  weight,  until  I  saw  what  the 
other  guests  did  with  their  smaller  portions,  and  following 
their  example  munched  up  the  leaves,  and  stuffed  the  sugar 
into  the  breast  of  my  coat  for  home  consumption. 

"  Shortly  after  leaving  Merve  the  traveller  again  enters  the 
sandy  desert,  and  through  it  continues  his  way  until  he 
reaches  the  Oxus,  at  a  place  called  Kabaklee  (the  pumpkin-. 

R 


302  THE  DESERT.  NOTE  F. 

ground),  a  distance  of  about  170  miles.  In  spring,  after 
the  winter  snows  have  disappeared,  and  the  soil  has  been 
moistened  by  the  vernal  rains,  the  surface  is  everywhere 
covered  with  a  bright  coat  of  verdure,  scanty  indeed  when 
looked  at  near,  but  when  viewed  in  the  distance  giving  the 
appearance  of  a  rich  sward  in  all  directions  until  lost  in  the 
horizon.  At  this  season  the  immensity  of  the  space,  the 
freshness  of  the  air,  the  richness  of  the  green  tint  under 
foot,  and  the  clearness  of  the  sky  above,  exhilarate  the  body 
and  give  an  elasticity  to  the  spirits  similar  to  what  is  expe- 
rienced at  sea  when,  under  easy  sail,  and  on  a  smooth  sea, 
the  ship,  a  solitary  speck  on  the  watery  desert,  is  gaily 
advancing  on  its  way  to  the  promised  port,  and  enables  one 
to  understand  the  feeling  of  attachment  which  binds  the 
nomade  to  the  place  of  his  nativity.  Some  portions  of  the 
desert  are,  however,  covered  with  the  shrubby  tree  called 
Fak.  It  grows  to  the  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  and 
some  of  them  are,  near  the  ground,  of  considerable  thick- 
ness. But  the  wood  is  so  dry  and  brittle  that  it  is  an  easy 
matter  to  snap  even  the  trunk  asunder ;  and  as  it  has  so 
little  of  the  sap  of  vitality,  when  thrown  on  the  fire  it 
ignites  at  once  with  a  clear  but  short-lived  flame,  and 
burns  with  little  or  no  smoke.  The  dingy  colour  of  the 
trees,  their  stunted  and  aged  form,  and  the  silence  which 
reigns  among  them,  give  those  wooded  tracts  such  an  air 
of  desolation  and  sadness,  that  the  traveller  gladly  ex- 
changes the  shelter  and  warmth  they  have  afforded  for  the 
cold  night  breeze  on  the  open  steppe.  In  summer  the  wind 
almost  always  blows  from  the  north ;  and  as  then  every 
blade  of  grass  has  been  burned  up,  the  light  sand  is  drifted 
along  and  deposited  in  waves,  whose  slope  is  abrupt  towards 
the  north,  and  falls  gradually  on  the  other  side. 

"  The  chief  wells  on  this  line  of  road  are  those  of  Kishman, 
Yak  Keper,  Yandaklee,  and  Sartlanlee.  At  one  of  these  I 
found  the  body  of  a  derveesh,  who,  unable  to  proceed  with 
the  caravan,  had,  in  that  place  of  solitude,  lain  down  and 
died.  No  charitable  hand  had  been  there  to  lay  him  in  his 
place  of  rest.  The  wind  alone  had  done  the  last  rites  by 
depositing  a  small  tumulus  of  sand  over  the  corpse,  except 


NOTE  F.  SERVICES  OF  CROWS.  363 

on  the  sheltered  side,  from  which  an  elbow  protruded. 
Wretched  and  dreary  must  have  been  the  last  hours  of  this 
lonely  and  abandoned  being,  were  it  not  that  alongside  of 
his  little  scrip,  containing  some  stale  bread  and  parched  peas, 
and  within  reach  of  his  hand,  were  a  small  pouch  of  medi- 
cated tobacco  and  an  unfinished  pipe;  and  with  the  aid 
of  this  drug  his  last  breath  probably  passed  away  in  some 
fancied  vision  of  terrestrial  or  celestial  bliss.  Quintus 
Curtius,  if  I  remember  rightly,  has  been  called  to  task  by 
the  translator  of  Arrian,  for  having  stated  that  Alexander, 
on  his  way  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon,  had  been 
guided  through  the  desert  to  the  spot  of  the  oasis  by  crows ; 
but  however  much  that  author  may  have  exaggerated,  in 
this  he  was  probably  correct,  for  I  have  myself  been  fre- 
quently escorted  in  a  similar  manner  by  these  birds  from 
one  well  to  another.  They  fly  a  short  distance  ahead  and 
await  the  approach  of  the  caravan,  and  so  on  until  the  sta- 
tion has  been  reached,  where  the  stray  grains  from  the 
horses'  nosebags,  or,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  the  carcase 
of  an  overspent  animal,  is  the  reward  of  their  unconscious 
services.  About  thirty-six  miles  before  reaching  the  Oxus 
a  low  range  of  hills  of  pure  sand  rises  above  the  level  steppe ; 
and  in  gratitude  for  the  blessing  of  pure,  sweet  water  it 
dispenses,  has  received  the  name  of  Takht  e  Suleiman  (Solo- 
mon's throne).  Water  is  only  found,  as  on  the  steppe,  at 
the  depth  of  many  fathoms  beneath  the  surface,  and  both 
saline  and  fetid,  while  here,  at  a  high  elevation,  and  by 
merely  scooping  the  sand  for  a  few  feet  with  the  hand, 
sweet  water  oozes  out  and  fills  the  cavity.  This  circum- 
stance is  considered  by  the  Uzbeks  as  a  miracle,  and  attri- 
buted by  them  to  the  son  of  David ;  but  the  more  natural 
explanation  would  be,  that  a  considerable  fissure  from  the 
bed  of  the  Oxus,  which,  from  a  point  at  a  greater  elevation, 
finds  its  exit  here,  and  in  the  lapse  of  ages  having  dis- 
charged its  stream  of  water  impregnated  with  fine  sand, 
has  given  rise  to  the  monticule  as  it  now  appears,  and 
whose  dimensions  will  probably  still  increase." 

"  At  Deveh  Boyoon  the  cultivation  begins,  and  the  road, 
leaving  the  river,  branches  off  to  the  left  to  the  town  of 

R  2 


364  AGRICULTURE.  NOTE  F. 

Hozar  Asp ;  but  it  is  only  on  reaching  this  latter  place  that 
the  highly  cultivated  lands  of  the  Khivan  oasis  are  fairly 
seen.  From  this  place  to  Khiva,  about  forty-two  miles,  the 
whole  country  is  covered  with  smiling  fields,  unwalled 
villages,  and,  as  in  Europe,  houses  and  gardens  in  the  open 
fields ;  a  proof  of  the  feeling  of  security  from  oppression 
rarely  met  with  in  more  civilized  Persia.  The  alluvial 
tract  is  of  little  breadth,  but  is  intersected  in  all  directions 
by  canals  for  irrigation.  Every  spot  which  has  been  re- 
claimed or  preserved  from  the  encroachment  of  the  sur- 
rounding desert  is  carefully  brought  into  cultivation.  The 
importance  attached  to  husbandry  in  this  country  is  marked 
by  the  national  ceremonies  in  opening  the  great  canals  for 
irrigation,  which  are  annually  performed  in  the  spring  by 
the  ruler  of  Khiva  in  person." 

"  The  ground  being  everywhere  level,  single-horse  carts  of 
rude  construction,  the  wheels  without  any  girding  of  iron, 
are  employed  by  the  peasantry  for  the  transport  of  their 
farm  produce,  instead  of,  as  in  Persia,  being  carried  on  the 
backs  of  donkeys,  horses,  and  mules.  Against  the  rearing 
of  the  latter  there  is  a  religious  prejudice." 

"  When  a  deputation  of  the  elders  of  the  villages  meets  a 
foreigner  to  compliment  him  on  his  arrival,  bread  is  always 
presented  to  him  ;  and  if  he  should  alight,  and  the  means 
of  the  chief  person  will  admit  of  it,  sugar  is  also  offered, 
and  the  piece  which  forms  the  head  of  the  cone  would 
appear  to  be  the  choicest  bit,  and  is  given  to  the  principal 
guest.  When  it  has  been  all  distributed,  the  lumps  are 
deposited  in  each  man's  garment  and  carried  off  by  him. 

"  The  features  of  the  real  Uzbek  (query  the  Uzri  of  the 
ancients  ?)  are  good,  and  many  of  their  complexions  are  fair. 
This  is  more  particularly  observable  in  the  women  and 
young  girls,  and  many  of  the  latter  bear  a  strong  re- 
semblance to  the  young  females  of  German  blood.  The 
system  of  close  veiling  which  prevails  in  Persia  among  the 
women  of  the  towns  and  villages  is  not  followed  in  Khiva. 
They  wear  an  outer  drapery  which  covers  the  body  from 
head  to  foot,  but  the  fi£ce  is,  in  general,  left  exposed ;  and 
in  the  country,  women  and  girls,  single  or  in  company,  are 


NOTE  F.  UZBEK  CUSTOMS.  365 

often  met  walking  from  village  to  village,  apparently  as 
secure  from  insult  as  they  are  in  European  countries.  The 
number  of  Persian  slaves  imported  and  also  bred  in  the 
country  is  immense,  and  in  almost  every  house  where  ser- 
vants are  kept,  one  or  more,  according  to  the  means  of  the 
proprietor,  are  to  be  found.  The  Uzbek  husbands,  with 
the  grown-up  males  of  the  family,  pass  their  nights  by 
themselves  in  the  outer  apartments,  it  being  considered 
derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  the  husband  that  his  room 
should  be  shared  by  his  wife." 

"  A  few  days  after  my  arrival  three  men  were  seized  by 
order  of  the  Khan  on  a  charge  of  criminal  assault  on  a 
woman.  A  pit  of  greater  depth  than  the  height  of  the 
tallest  of  them  was  dug,  into  which  they  were  put  after  they 
had  previously  denied  their  guilt,  and  their  feet  firmly 
attached  to  the  bottom  of  it.  A  thin  stream  of  water  was 
then  made  to  flow  into  the  pit,  and,  as  the  water  gradually 
rose,  they  were  called  upon  to  make  a  confession  of  their 
crime.  This  they  all  persisted  in  refusing  to  do,  until  the 
shortest  of  the  party  was  on  the  point  of  being  suffocated 
by  the  water,  which  had  reached  his  mouth.  He  in  his  last 
struggles  admitted  that  they  were  all  three  guilty  ;  and 
upon  this,  although  the  two  others  stoutly  denied  their  com- 
plicity, they  were  immediately  taken  out  and  executed. 

"  The  Khan  of  Khiva's  practice  is  to  transact  his  most  im- 
portant business  in  the  night.  Notice  had  been  given  to 
me  that  on  an  early  day  he  would  see  me.  Two  or  three 
nights  after  the  intimation  had  been  given,  when  the  doors 
had  been  locked,  my  servants  asleep  and  myself  in  bed  read- 
ing, a  loud  knocking  was  heard  at  the  outer  gate.  This 
was  a  message  from  the  Khan  that  he  would  receive  me  then. 
My  meerza  and  servants,  who  could  not  understand  a  night 
summons  of  this  nature,  looked  as  if  they  had  heard  a  sen- 
tence of  execution.  The  meerza,  with  tears  running  over 
his  beard,  begged  me  not  to  go  ;  but  was  somewhat  relieved 
when  I  told  him  that  it  was  a  practice  of  the  country,  and 
still  more  when  I  told  him  that  it  was  not  my  intention  to 
take  him  with  me.  By  the  light  of  a  couple  of  lanterns 
we  proceeded  to  the  town  and  entered  the  Khan's  palace, 


366  NIGHT  VISIT  TO  NOTE  F. 

without  having  met  any  people  on  the  way.  I  was  first 
conducted  to  the  room  of  the  M  enter  Agha,  the  Chief  Vezeer, 
which  was  nearly  full  of  his  people  and  meerzas.  Finding 
that  he  was  sitting  near  the  door,  and  wishing  to  be  polite, 
I  was  seating  myself  between  him  and  the  door,  and  was 
surprised  that  he  should  motion  to  me  to  take,  what  I 
believed  to  be,  the  higher  place,  but  in  reality  the  lower. 
Being  at  that  time  ignorant  that  the  place  of  dignity  was 
the  reverse  of  that  established  in  Persia,  I  dropped  myself 
on  the  ground  and  maintained  the  place  I  had  selected,  in 
spite  of  what  I  conceived  to  be  their  good-natured  endea- 
vours to  do  me  honour.  After  tea  kalleons  were  brought. 
With  the  exception  of  the  principal  Yezeer  and  another,  the 
latter  were  smoked  as  in  Persia;  but  those  two  persons 
inhaled  the  smoke  not  directly  from  the  pipe,  but  from  the 
mouth  and  hings  of  the  pipe-bearer,  who,  after  filling  his 
lungs  with  as  much  of  the  smoke  as  the}'  could  bear,  ap- 
proached his  mouth  to  that  of  his  master,  and,  by  an  ex  and 
inhalation  between  the  parties,  the  transfer  was  effected. 
This  unsightly  practice  has  its  origin  in  the  quality  of  the 
tobacco  grown  in  the  country,  which  is  so  pungent  when 
compared  with  that  of  Sheeraz,  that  only  the  strongest  lungs 
can  bear  it  when  taken  direct  from  the  pipe ;  but  by  the 
employment  of  an  intermediary,  the  more  stimulating  por- 
tions of  the  smoke  are  deposited  in  the  servant's  mouth  and 
throat.  After  this  ceremony  had  been  gone  through,  a 
young  lad  of  the  class  called  mehrems  announced  that  the 
Khan  Hazret  was  ready  to  receive  me.  I  thought  that  some 
one  or  more  of  the  officials  in  the  room  would  have  accom- 
panied me ;  but  I  was  told  no  one  could  go  unless  specially 
summoned  by  the  prince,  and  that,  as  I  alone  had  been  sent 
for,  I  must  go  unaccompanied  by  any  one  but  the  mehiem. 
From  the  Vezeer's  room  we  crossed  a  middle-sized  court, 
lighted  by  a  single  lantern  at  the  entrance,  and  opposite  it 
came  to  a  doorway  and  long  passage  absolutely  in  utter 
darkness.  The  appearance  of  the  place,  the  hour  of  night, 
and  the  solitude,  were  trying  to  the  nerves,  so  I  desired  the 
lad  to  go  and  bring  a  lantern.  He  said  he  dared  not  do  so, 
but  told  me,  if  I  was  afraid  to  go  on  in  the  dark,  to  give  him 


NOTE  F.  THE  KHAN  OF  KHIVA.  367 

my  hand,  and  he  would  guide  me.  But  this  I  declined,  and, 
somewhat  satisfied  by  his  artless  manner,  told  him  to  lead 
on ;  and  cautiously  groping  along,  with  one  hand  on  the 
wall  and  one  foot  well  stretched  out  in  front  to  guard  against 
a  pit  in  the  way,  I  at  length  came  to  another  court,  but  alto- 
gether without  light,  in  the  centre  of  which  a  round  Toorko- 
man  or  Alachick  tent  was  pitched.  To  this  tent  the  lad 
pointed  by  way  of  announcing  that  there  was  the  abode 
of  Uzbek  dignity.  I  told  him  quietly  to  go  and  an- 
nounce me ;  but  putting  his  finger  to  his  lips,  he  cut  all 
discussion  short  by  darting  into  the  passage  we  had  just 
come  through,  leaving  me  to  find  out  some  mode  of  presen- 
tation for  myself.  My  first  idea  was,  Is  it  possible  that  I 
have  been  entrapped  into  the  haram  of  the  Khan  ?  and  the 
first  impulse  was  to  follow  the  lad  and  endeavour  to  return 
to  the  Vezeer's  room ;  but  after  a  little  reflection  I  fell  on 
the  ordinary  expedient  of  announcing  my  presence  by  a 
cough.  A  faint  echo,  however,  was  all  it  called  forth,  and 
so  after  a  considerable  pause  I  had  recourse  to  my  pocket- 
handkerchief,  and  trumpeted  it  like  a  young  elephant,  with 
the  same  result  as  before.  I  again  eyed  the  dark  passage 
and  the  tent  alternately,  but  at  length  made  for  the  latter 
with  as  heavy  and  deliberate  steps  as  possible.  On  lifting 
the  corner  of  the  carpet  which  formed  the  door  of  the  tent, 
I  perceived,  though  indistinctly,  a  person  seated  on  the 
ground,  who  motioned  to  me  to  come  in  and  be  seated  on 
a  small  piece  of  carpet  close  to  the  door,  and  right  in 
front  of  him.  This  was  Allah  Koolee  Khan,  Khan  Haz- 
ret,  king  of  Kharezm,  and  the  shadow  of  God.  He  was 
seated  cross-legged  on  a  small  velvet  carpet  spread  on 
the  floor,  and  partly  reclining  on  a  feather  cushion  at 
his  left  side.  Before  him  was  another  small  carpet,  on 
which  were  arranged  a  small  battle-axe,  a  mace,  a  broad- 
bladed  dagger,  a  double  barrelled  pistol,  and  some  other 
things  which  I  had  not  time  to  note  what  they  were.  There 
was  a  single  light  in  the  tent,  with  a  reflector  in  front,  evi- 
dently so  intentionally  arranged  as  to  throw  the  light  on 
the  spot  where  I  was  seated,  and  to  keep  himself  in  the 
shadow.  After  I  was  seated,  he  asked  me,  in  Uzbek  Turk- 


368  VISIT  TO  THE  KHAN.  NOTE  F. 

ish,  what  had  brought  me  to  his  country.  I  replied  in 
Persian,  that  I,  being  ignorant  of  Turkish,  would,  if  he 
allowed  me,  call  a  person  attached  to  me  to  act  as  inter- 
preter, which  proposition  was  answered  by  a  voice  from  a 
corner,  telling  me  to  say  what  I  had  to  communicate  in 
Persian.  On  looking  in  the  direction  of  the  sound  I  per- 
ceived in  the  dingy  light  a  person  standing  in  a  hole  about 
the  depth  of  his  knees,  and  in  length  and  breadth  like  a 
place  which  might  be  used  as  a  slipper-bath.  I  therefore 
spoke  in  Persian,  and  my  words  were  interpreted  into 
Turkish  by  the  Uzbek  C.  B.  Before,  however,  my  dis- 
course was  completed,  the  Khan  suddenly  seized  the  cushion 
on  which  he  had  been  leaning,  and,  dashing  it  on  the  ground 
at  his  side,  demanded  of  me  in  a  violent  tone,  and  at  the 
same  time  seizing  and  cocking  the  pistol  which  was 
lying  before  him,  if  I  had  come  there  to  frighten  him. 
The  words  and  the  movement  were  so  rapid  and  unexpected 
that  it  required  a  minute  or  two  before  I  could  frame  a 
reply :  during  the  interim  I  had  not  moved  in  the  least  from 
the  position  in  which  I  was  seated ;  and  my  reply,  to  the 
effect  that  his  interpreter  must,  either  from  ignorance  or 
intentionally,  have  misinterpreted  what  I  had  said,  in 
which  there  was  no  ground  for  offence,  was  delivered  with 
coolness ;  and  I  further  requested  again  to  be  allowed  to 
retire  and  return  with  my  own  interpreter.  He  said,  in 
very  good  Persian,  that  it  was  unnecessary,  as  he  him- 
self understood  what  I  said,  and,  smiling  to  the  inter- 
preter, remarked  that  the  English  were  a  very  honest  and 
straightforward  race,  bold,  and  wise,  and  many  other  things 
complimentary,  and,  adding  that  he  would  give  me  an 
audience  on  another  occasion,  changed  the  conversation  to 
the  state  of  Europe,  and  made  some  very  anxious  inquiries 
as  to  the  mode  practised  in  Europe  for  blanching  the  wax 
employed  in  candle-making.  On  taking  leave,  I  was  left  to 
find  my  own  way  out  as  I  had  found  it  in  ;  and  on  issuing 
from  the  tent,  what  with  the  pistol-scene  and  my  attention 
being  intensely  concentrated  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  I  was 
thoroughly  perplexed  to  find  out  by  which  of  the  four 
comers  of  the  court  I  had  entered.  More  by  good  luck  than 


NOTE  F.  KHIVAN  STATISTICS.  369 

good  guiding  I  was  happy  to  find,  on  reaching  the  end  of 
the  passage  I  had  selected,  that  it  was  the  right  one,  and 
the  lad  who  had  guided  me  waiting  my  return.  My  tribu- 
lations caused  by  the  general  report  of  its  being  the  inten- 
tion of  the  Khan  Hazret  to  have  us  massacred  on  the  way 
to  Merve,  and  the  proposition  of  the  agent  sent  by  the  Khan 
to  Afghanistan  to  ascertain  the  real  posture  of  our  afi'airs 
there,  to  have  me  seized  by  Neeaz  Mahommed  Baee,  the 
governor  of  Merve,  and  delivered  over  to  the  Cabul  chiefs, 
I  need  not  detail,  as  the  one  was  unfounded,  and  the  other 
did  not  succeed." 

"  According  to  the  Defterdar  (accountant-general)  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  summary  of  the  statistics  of  Khiva : — It  contains 
30,000  horsemen,  17  guns,  1  mortar,  17  kherwars  of  gun- 
powder (a  kherwar  is  about  7  cwt.),  1000  cannon-balls  in 
stone.  There  are  100,000  families,  from  whom  the  revenue 
is  raised.  The  property  of  the  Khan  consists  of  100  pairs 
of  oxen,  6000  kherwars  of  wheat  and  barley  in  store  ;  2000 
pairs  of  oxen  are  furnished  by  the  Khan  to  the  Eyots,  from 
whom  he  in  return  receives  5000  kherwars  of  grain ;  20,000 
kherwars  of  rice ;  100  cart-horses,  50  camels,  5  mules,  24 
milch  cows,  1000  riding  horses  ;  3000  stand  of  arms,  chiefly 
muskets ;  jewellery  and  female  finery  estimated  at  40,000 
tilleh  (a  tilleh  is  lls.)  ;  100  regular  soldiers,  and  1  Rus- 
sian artilleryman.  The  walled  towns  west  of  the  Oxus  are 
Pitnek,  Hezar  Asp,  Khiva,  Dash  Howz,  Shabat,  Henegah, 
Poorshowla,  Khorcheet,  Koukaad,  Kokneh,  Oorgenje, 
Felan  Loo,  Mangut  Tazeh,  Oorgenje.  The  Khan  possesses 
500  men  slaves  in  his  own  immediate  possession,  and  4000 
in  the  employment  of  Eyots  on  the  state  lands." 

Here  finishes  the  amusing  narrative  of  Mr.  Thomson. 

For  more  than  a  century  Eussia  has  been  aiming  at  the 
possession  of  Khiva.  Twice  she  has  failed  in  attaining  her 
object  by  force,  by  open  force.  The  next  attempt  will  pro- 
bably secure  the  prize.  Dissension  at  Khiva,  steamers  on 
the  Aral  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oxus,  a  fortress  at  the 
Jaxartes,  invite  an  attempt  and  promise  success. 

England  has  some  concern  with  the  establishment  of 
Eussia  in  this  principality.  There  she  would  be  inexpugn- 

R  3 


370  AFFAIRS  OF  AFGHANISTAN.  NOTE  G. 

able.  She  is  within  two  hundred  miles  of  the  Caspian,  a 
space  which,  to  minds  accustomed  to  the  vast  distances  of 
Asia,  is  as  nothing.  A  Persian  soldier  thinks  little  of  a 
march  of  one  thousand  miles  from  Azerbijan  to  Khorassan. 
Master  of  Khiva,  the  Russian  government  becomes  supreme 
over  the  Toorkomans,  and  will  find  no  insurmountable  diffi- 
culty in  establishing  through  the  intervening  level  tract  a 
permanent  and  available  communication  with  the  Caspian 
sea.  The  noble  river  Oxus,  navigable  to  within  a  hundred 
miles  of  Hindoo  Koosh,  becomes  Eussian,  and  is  covered  with 
Russian  steamers.  At  his  choice  the  Emperor  can  fix  the 
boundary  of  his  empire  on  that  river,  for  who  is  there  to 
gainsay  him  ?  Khoolloom  and  Koondooz  will  doubtless 
then  become  the  limits  of  the  Russian  dominions.  The 
trade  between  India  and  those  countries,  now  free  and  un- 
controlled on  the  payment  of  not  immoderate  duties,  falls 
then  under  the  despotic  rule  of  that  government,  and  be- 
comes subject  to  its  protective  and  selfish  commercial  restric- 
tions. Her  near  neighbourhood  is  not  likely  to  strengthen 
our  position  in  north-western  India.  And  yet  it  seems 
impossible  to  avert  these  evils,  or  to  prevent  the  downfall 
of  Khiva,  or  its  eventual  occupation  by  Russia.  Can  nothing 
however  be  done  to  save  the  Oxus,  to  save  at  least  the  por- 
tion approximating  to  Afghanistan  ? 


NOTE  (G).     Page  258. 
AFGHANISTAN. 

Our  conquest  and  defeat  —  Practicability  of  invasion  of  India  —  Neces- 
sary precautions  —  Importance  of  Candahar  as  a  military  position  — 
Russian  preparations  for  another  war. 

AFGHANISTAN  cost  the  British  nation — or  what  is,  or  ought 
to  be,  the  same  thing,  the  government  of  India — sixteen 
millions  sterling.  With  a  handful  of  men  we  achieved  a 
great  conquest.  We  met  with  a  reverse,  a  single  reverse, 
for  the  repulse  of  small  detachments  is  of  no  consideration, 
and  we  fled.  If  our  discomfiture  had  been  caused  by  the 


NOTE  G.  PROBABLE  INVASION  OF  INDIA.  371 

power,  the  bravery,  or  the  intelligence  of  our  opponents, 
flight  would  have  admitted  of  apology.  But  it  was  not  so. 
The  defeat  we  suffered  arose  solely  from  our  ignorance  and 
unparalleled  disregard  of  every  military  rule  and  precau- 
tion. We  acted  at  Cabul  in  our  military  arrangements  in 
a  manner  that  would  be  blameable  and  unsafe  at  Delhi ; 
and  this  defeat  sufficed  to  drive  us  in  a  panic  from  the 
really  important  part  of  our  conquest  and  scene  of  un- 
varying success — Candahar. 

Which  portion  of  our  conduct  is  deserving  of  blame — 
the  undertaking  of  this  costly  expedition,  or  the  abandon- 
ment of  a  splendid  conquest  ?  The  answer  to  this  question 
seems  to  rest  on  one  point.  Is  the  invasion  of  India 
practicable  by  Eussia  ?  or,  what  is  of  equal  importance,  is 
she  able  to  make  a  dangerous  demonstration  in  Afghan- 
istan ?  If  it  be  certain  that  this  proposition  admits  of  a 
distinct  denial,  then  it  must  be  conceded  the  expedition 
was  needless;  but  if  it  be  probable  that  a  demonstration 
of  the  nature  alluded  to  be  practicable,  then  it  appears  to 
be  almost  equally  incontestable  that  the  relinquishment  of 
Candahar,  above  all,  was  an  error. 

Without  undertaking  to  decide  the  large  question  at 
issue,  I  shall  assume  the  feasibility  of  invasion  to  be  esta- 
blished, and  merely  observe  that  now  more  than  ever 
should  we  be  on  the  watch,  for  the  Russian  and  Indian 
dominions  are  twelve  hundred  miles  nearer  to  each  other 
than  when  the  invasion  of  Afghanistan  took  place.  Ex- 
cluded from  prosecuting  her  ambitious  objects  in  other 
quarters,  revenge,  the  desire  of  retrieving  her  prestige,  all 
conspire  to  urge  Eussia  to  the  East.  She  will  await  the 
favourable  moment  in  patience,  moving  forward  in  the 
mean  while  by  the  wiles  she  is  reputed  to  understand  so 
well.  On  this  occasion  she  has  been  opposed  by  four  com- 
batants ;  next  time  these  conditions  may  be  reversed.  Let 
it  not  be  forgotten  that,  when  her  railroads  to  Odessa  and 
to  Yladikafkaz  are  completed,  her  strength,  particularly 
towards  the  East,  will  be  doubled. 

What  course  ought  we  to  pursue  ?  Shall  we  imitate  the 
past,  and  cast  foresight  aside  ;  or  shall  we  take  time  by  the 


372  IMPORTANCE  OF  CAXDAHAR.  NOTE  G. 

forelock  ?  Shall  we  meet  the  invader  in  Afghanistan,  or 
shall  we  allow  him  to  occupy  that  ground,  and  decide  the 
contest  in  India  itself? 

As  matters  now  stand,  established  as  we  are  in  the 
Punjab  and  in  Peshawer,  the  want  of  a  position  at  Cabul 
can  hardly  be  viewed  as  a  detriment.  In  spite  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  Khiva  and  the  Oxus,  supposing  both  to  be  in 
the  possession  of  Eussia,  the  denies  and  passes  of  the 
Hindoo  Koosh,  held,  as  they  doubtless  would  be,  by 
soldiers  like  those  of  England,  would  be  too  formidable 
and  too  doubtful  an  experiment  to  venture  on.  The  real 
invasion,  if  it  ever  takes  place,  must  be  by  Herat,  although, 
no  doubt,  a  diversion  would  be  made  by  Khiva  and  the 
Hindoo  Koosh.  In  the  improbable  case  of  an  English  army 
being  driven  from  those  formidable  positions,  the  assailant 
has  only  done  half  his  work.  We  know  by  woeful  experi- 
ence the  difficulties  he  has  to  surmount  before  reaching 
the  Indus.  The  whole  route,  from  the  Oxus  to  the  latter 
stream,  is  so  full  of  obstacles,  there  can  be  no  hesitation 
in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  no  large  army  will  select 
this  road.  Burns  uses  the  following  words  : — "  The  natural 
strength  of  Cabul  is  its  best  barrier  against  a  successful 
invasion."  Sir  W.  Nott's  opinion  is,  that  "  Afghanistan 
firmly  held  and  well  managed  by  us  would  be  very  valuable 
as  a  barrier." 

Add  to  the  foregoing  considerations,  that,  if  a  consider- 
able force  were  to  sustain  detention  in  that  country,  as 
would  certainly  happen,  it  would  incur  serious  risk  of 
perishing  through  starvation.  Cabul  is  a  country  produc- 
tive in  fruit,  but  not  in  corn.  Burns  says  of  it,  that 
"  grain  grows  scantily,"  and  that  "  fruit  is  more  plentiful 
than  bread." 

If  these  premises  be  correct,  it  must  then,  as  before  said, 
be  through  Herat  and  Candahar  that  an  invasion  is  to  be 
conducted.  Candahar  is  therefore  the  grand  strategical 
point ;  for  if  Herat  be  the  key  of  Afghanistan,  Candahar  is 
the  key  of  India.  The  former  fortress  is  so  distant  from 
the  British  frontier,  that  we  may  dismiss  any  consideration 
of  its  occupation  by  an  English  force  at  the  present  day. 


NOTE  G.  IMPORTANCE  OF  CAXDAHAR.  373 

Jonas  Han  way  says,  "  the  situation  of  Candahar  renders 
it  a  strong  barrier  between  the  empires  of  Persia  and  India." 

The  town  of  Candahar  commands  the  three  roads  to 
India  :  that  by  Cabul,  by  Shikarpoor,  and  the  sterile  routes 
across  the  Suleina  range  to  Dera  Ismael  Khan  and  Dera 
Ghazee  Khan,  on  the  Indus.* 

The  above  city  is  situated  in  the  most  fertile  part  of 
Afghanistan,  in  plains  abounding  with  wheat,  barley,  and 
other  grains.  Here  it  is  practicable  to  provide  for  the  sub- 
sistance  of  an  army  during  a  certain  time.  It  should  be 
our  care  to  secure  these  resources  from  being  available  to 
an  enemy. 

Candahar  is  surrounded  by  the  Dooranee  tribes,  who,  if 
left  to  themselves,  are  more  likely  to  join  an  invader  than 
to  oppose  him  ;  but  who,  by  being  placed  within  the  reach 
of  control,  may  be  converted  into  useful  auxiliaries,  or  at 
all  events  rendered  less  hurtful. 

The  distance  between  Candahar  and  our  outposts  does 
not  exceed  200  miles.!  ^  *ke  abandonment  of  this  position 
is  deserving  of  regret,  its  resumption  should  form  an  object 
of  early  effort.  Established  here,  we  may  almost  set  invasion 
at  defiance.  A  Gumri,  a  Sebastopol,  in  this  spot  makes  us 
paramount,  for  it  will  be  an  announcement  to  all  the  world 
that  the  determination  to  remain  is  irrevocable. 

We  shall  suppose  ourselves  established  at  Candahar  in 
a  large  and  exceedingly  strong  fortress,  whose  reduction 
would  require  a  siege  of  several  months  at  the  least ;  and 
then  consider  the  position  of  an  invading  army.  Under  the 
most  favourable  circumstances  its  subsistence  would  de- 
mand care  and  preparation.  With  Candahar  in  our  pos- 
session it  may  be  conceived  how  the  difficulty  would  be 
augmented.  The  land,  if  necessary,  could  be  laid  waste  in 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  the  grain  removed,  the  flocks  and 
herds  driven  off  (our  irregular  cavalry  is  at  least  a  match 


*  There  is  a  mountain  road  from  Herat  to  Cabul,  but  it  is  described 
to  be  impassable  for  guns,  and  to  be  through  a  thinly  inhabited  country, 
consequently  to  be  deficient  in  food. 

f  It  is  assumed  that  Dader  and  Kelat  are  our  frontier  stations. 


374         IMPORTANCE  OF  CANDAHAE.       NOTE  G. 

for  Cossacks)  ;  a  desert  might  enclose  Candahar  to  any  dis- 
tance. We  may  conceive  by  what  happened  to  our  own 
forces  at  Sebastopol,  with  an  open  sea  in  their  rear,  what 
would  be  the  condition  of  an  army  undertaking  a  long  siege 
in  the  midst  of  Afghanistan,  in  the  face  of  all  these  obsta- 
cles. Shall  we  be  told  that  the  enemy  would  despise  this 
formidable  fortress  and  large  garrison,  and  advance  to  the 
Indus,  leaving  it  in  the  rear  ?  If  the  invaders  bring  with 
them  a  Napoleon  or  a  Hannibal  they  may  dare  such  an 
exploit ;  but  should  they  suffer  a  defeat,  what  becomes  of 
their  army  ? 

Han  way  says  that  in  1711  the  Afghans  destroyed  a  large 
Persian  army  besieging  Candahar,  by  laying  waste  the 
country. 

Or  shall  we  await  the  enemy  in  India  ?  There  we  can- 
not lay  waste  the  country,  remove  the  grain,  or  drive  away 
the  flocks  and  herds.  The  density  of  population  prohibits 
such  an  idea.  In  any  case,  and  above  all,  let  not  the  con- 
test be  waged  on  Indian  land. 

Or  shall  it  be  said  that  we  can  always  anticipate  an 
enemy  advancing  into  Afghanistan,  and  may  therefore  defer 
that  movement  until  the  moment  of  danger  ?  We  may  do 
so  no  doubt,  but  will  it  be  contended  that  we  and  the  in- 
vaders shall  then  be  in  the  same  relative  position  as  before 
supposed  ? 

If  invasion  be  practicable,  the  best  mode  of  preventing 
it  is  by  preparation,  and  by  surrounding  it  by  such  difficul- 
ties as  will  make  the  undertaking  an  act  of  desperation. 
It  is  conceived  that  the  mode  indicated  is  one  of  the  means 
of  accomplishing  this  important  object.  Our  taking  up  a 
formidable  position  at  Candahar  will  go  far  to  deter  even 
speculation  on  the  chances  of  invasion. 

The  cost  of  the  plan  offered  for  consideration,  and  the 
drain  on  the  already  encumbered  resources  of  India,  deserve 
reflection.  Yet  present  expenditure  is  often  real  economy, 
of  which  the  war  we  are  now  waging  is  a  notable  example. 
It  seems  to  be  a  national  vice  to  prefer  the  most  lavish 
outlay  in  prospect  to  present  moderate  disbursement. 
Whatever  tends  to  avert  an  attempt  to  wrest  India  from 


NOTE  H.  PERSIAN  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  375 

our  hands,  and  prevent  the  enormous  consequent  expendi- 
ture, is  economy. 

Should  the  day  ever  come  for  the  realisation  of  these 
speculations,  it  is  to  be  hoped  we  shall  not  renew  our  lavish 
expenditure  of  gold  in  vain  endeavours  to  allay  discontent. 
Bribery  has  the  contrary  effect.  It  stimulates  instead  of 
soothing,  for  all  cannot  be  bribed.  Let  us  rule  with  all 
the  honesty  and  justice  that  despotism  admits  of,  pardoning 
anything  excepting  insurrection,  and  making  no  unsparing 
use  of  disarmament  and  expatriation. 

Other  considerations  might  be  urged  in  favour  of  the 
views  here  advocated;  but  it  is  not  expedient  to  allude 
more  particularly  to  them  here ;  and  they  are,  moreover, 
not  hidden  under  an  impenetrable  veil  to  any  one  who 
chooses  to  reflect  on  the  subject. 

Eussia  may  be  said  to  have  already  announced  that  she 
is  even  now  preparing  for  her  next  encounter  with  Great 
Britain.  Her  railways  have  no  other  end  than  to  transport 
troops.  She  found  that  in  the  last  struggle  her  weakness 
lay  in  the  impossibility  of  collecting  her  forces  at  the  proper 
moment  on  the  distant  points  of  her  empire.  This  weakness 
she  has  intimated  shall  disappear.  But  we  too  will  not 
remain  idle.  Our  railways  in  India  will  advance  as  well 
as  those  of  Russia.  Established  and  prepared  in  Candahar, 
with  a  railway  running  the  whole  length  of  the  left  bank  of 
the  Indus,  we  may  await  any  attempt  in  calmness.  The 
Kussian  grenadier  now  knows  his  inferiority  to  the  English 
soldier.  The  Cossack  will  find  a  match  in  the  Hindoostanee 
horseman. 


NoxE(H).     Page  270. 
SII-K  MANUFACTURE  OF  PERSIA. 

Importance  to  Persia  of  her  silk  manufacture  —  Silk-trade  of  Geelan — 
Importations  from  England  —  Province  of  Geelan  —  Gipsies. 

SILK  is  the  great  staple  of  Persian  commerce,  particularly 
of  foreign  traffic,  which  enables  it  to  pay  for  a  portion  of 
its  importations  from  abroad.  For  though  horses,  dry  fruit, 


376  PERSIAN  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  NOTE  H. 

and  drugs  are  sent  to  India;  sheep,  silk,  cotton,  and 
woollen  manufactures  to  Constantinople  and  other  pails  of 
Turkey ;  and  grain,  silk,  and  cotton  goods  to  Eussia,  the 
amount  is  too  insignificant  to  admit  of  payment  for  her 
extensive  importations  excepting  by  means  of  the  precious 
metals.  Fortunately  a  large  proportion  of  her  silk  is  con- 
sumed in  Eussia,  who,  possessing  few  manufactures  or  other 
productions  necessary  to  Persia,  is  compelled  to  pay  chiefly 
in  gold  for  her  importations  thence.  Were  it  not  for  this 
circumstance,  it  seems  inconceivable  how  the  commerce  of 
Persia  could  be  maintained,  or  how  she  could  be  saved 
from  a  dearth  of  metallic  currency.  Even  with  this  aid 
from  Eussia  it  is  supposed  that  gold  is  yearly  diminishing, 
and  that  the  time  must  come  when  the  commerce  of  Persia 
with  Europe  will  nearly  cease.  It  might  be  conjectured 
that  this  circumstance  would  have  already  led  to  its  gra- 
dual decrease.  But  this  does  not  seem  to  have  happened. 
The  consumption  in  quantity  of  European  manufactures 
has  even  of  late  somewhat  augmented,  remuneration 
being  obtained  by  the  importer  by  a  great  deterioration  in 
quality.  This  change  produced  an  amusing  example  of 
Persian  ideas  on  free  trade.  A  few  years  ago,  when  the 
chintz  brought  from  England  was  absolutely  worthless 
both  in  texture  and  colours,  the  Persian  merchants  of 
Tabreez  sent  a  petition  to  the  Shah  that  he  should  remon- 
strate with  the  British  Government,  in  order  that  the 
manufacturers  and  merchants  of  England  should  be  pro- 
hibited from  supplying  the  market  with  such  miserable 
goods. 

The  silk  of  Geelan  is  of  inferior  quality,  and  is  therefore 
little  adapted  to  the  markets  of  France,  England,  or  Italy. 
Attempts  to  produce  an  improvement  have  been  made  by 
English  merchants,  though  with  little  success.  Suspicion 
of  the  intention  in  offering  advice,  apathy,  and  an  aversion 
to  deviate  from  routine,  are  the  chief  obstacles  to  amend- 
ment. It  is  in  the  winding  chiefly  that  change  is  required  ; 
the  skein  is  too  long,  and  the  thread  is  uneven  and  knotty. 
This  supineness  is  deeply  to  be  regretted,  for  if  Persia 
could  supply  good  silk  the  profit  to  her  and  to  England 


NOTE  H.  PERSIAN  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  377 

would  be  great.  We  would  take  any  supply  she  could 
produce,  and  in  return  she  would  consume  a  much  larger 
quantity  of  our  chintzes  and  woollen  manufactures.  Thus 
the  unceasing  drain  of  gold  from  Persia  would  find  a 
remedy. 

Still  it  is  believed  that  the  silk-trade  of  Geelan  is 
improving,  though  stationary  as  far  as  England  is  con- 
cerned. The  cultivation  of  the  mulberry  is  becoming  more 
extended,  and  encroachment  is  annually  made  on  the  thick 
forest  for  the  purpose  of  planting  that  tree.  Twelve  years 
ago  the  quantity  produced  was  more  than  a  million  of 
pounds  in  weight,  the  value  of  which,  on  the  spot,  was  more 
than  450, OOO/.  The  duty  paid  to  Government  was  above 
10,000/.,  being  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent,  by  foreigners,  and 
2£  by  Persians.  To  the  above  quantity  of  reeled  silk  is 
to  be  added  a  certain  portion  carried  out  of  the  province 
without  payment  of  duty.  Further  is  to  be  added  a  con- 
siderable share  of  waste  silk,  estimated  to  be  not  far  short 
of  the  quantity  of  wound  silk,  though  of  course  greatly 
inferior  in  value.  The  total  value  of  the  silk  produced  in 
the  province  ascends,  therefore,  to  a  sum  not  much  less 
than  600,000?.  This  is  a  considerable  amount  for  one  of 
the  smallest  provinces  of  Persia,  of  which  a  large  portion 
of  the  surface  is  rice-marsh,  swamp,  forest,  and  mountain, 
on  which  the  mulberry-tree  is  not  cultivated. 

The  value  of  the  province  of  Geelan  is  further  enhanced 
by  its  fisheries  of  sturgeon,  salmon,  and  other  fish,  from 
which,  however,  the  Government  does  not  derive  an  advan- 
tage at  all  equivalent  to  their  value.  As  before  said,  the 
sturgeon-fisheries  are  in  the  hands  of  .Russians,  who  export 
the  sturgeon  to  their  own  country. 

That  this  province  should  have  been  long  coveted  by 
Russia  is  not  surprising.  Everything  contributes  to  make 
it  a  desirable  possession :  its  situation  relative  to  Russia, 
its  wealth  and  improvable  qualities,  its  defensible  position, 
mountains  on  one  side,  the  sea  on  the  other,  swamps  and 
jungles  all  over  the  province.  Its  importance  to  Persia  is 
equally  obvious,  yet  no  precautions  are  taken  for  its  pre- 
servation or  improvement.  Everything  is  left  to  chance, 


378  PERSIAN  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  NOTE  H. 

and  to  that  sovereign  Persian  remedy  for  all  evils,  past, 
present,  and  to  come,  Inshallah. 

In  Mazenderan  and  almost  every  part  of  Persia,  silk  is 
produced,  though  not  in  quantities  at  all  approaching  to 
its  cultivation  in  Geelan.  The  Persians  have  acquired  great 
dexterity  in  its  manufacture.  Almost  all  the  various  kinds 
found  in  Europe  are  prepared  in  Persia,  but  of  much  in- 
ferior gloss  and  finish,  such  as  satins,  sarcenet,  brocades, 
velvets,  plain  and  every  kind  of  striped  silk,  and  all 
exceedingly  strong  and  durable,  with  brilliant  colours. 
They  display  equal  ability  in  the  combination  of  silk  and 
cotton.  A  garment  composed  purely  of  silk  is  "  unlawful  " 
in  the  Mussulman  creed,  a  dogma  rarely  attended  to  by 
women,  especially  under  the  temptation  of  the  silks  of 
France  and  England ;  *  the  men  are  more  devout.  On  this 
account  a  large  quantity  of  silk  and  cotton  stuffs  is  manu- 
factured ;  and  for  the  same  reason  the  Irish  manufacture 
of  silk  and  wool,  called  tabinet,  or  poplin,  is  in  high 
estimation. 

It  was  at  one  time  imagined  that  Persia  took  from  Eng- 
land, by  the  way  of  Trebizond  alone,  manufactured  goods 
to  the  value  of  a  million  sterling.  Longer  experience  has 
rectified  this  estimate,  and  reduced  it  to  something  ex- 
ceeding half  this  sum.  In  the  present  state  of  Persia  it  is 
inconceivable  by  what  means  she  could  pay  for  this  large 
quantity  of  merchandize.  The  want  of  river  for  transport, 
and  of  roads  for  wheeled  vehicles,  and  the  consequent  cost 
of  conveying  goods  from  a  long  distance,  exclude  the  pos- 
sibility of  reimbursement  by  means  of  her  productions  in 
their  present  state.  The  only  explanation  is  to  be  found  in 
the  supposition  that  a  share  of  these  English  importations 
finds  its  way  to  Russia,  and  that  payment  is  made  in  gold. 

Geelan  resembles  Bengal  in  its  damp  climate,  its  swamps, 
and  jungles.  Like  Bengal,  too,  the  food  of  the  inhabitants 
is  principally  rice,  besides  fish,  with  which  the  sea,  lakes, 


*  The  above  term  implies,  that  in  reciting  the  prescribed  number  of 
prayers,  if  the  dress  is  composed  of  unmixed  silk  the  value  of  the 
prayers  is  annulled. 


NOTE  H.  PERSIAN  SILK  MANUFACTURE.  379 

and  rivers  swarm.  Bread  is  procurable  only  in  towns. 
The  woods  abound  in  game,  particularly  pheasants  and 
woodcocks.  Like  the  Bengalees,  too,  and  owing  probably 
to  the  same  cause,  an  unwholesome  climate,  the  inhabitants 
of  Geelan  are  indolent  in  mind  and  feeble  in  body.  On  this 
account  several  thousands  of  labourers  from  the  other  parts 
of  Persia  proceed  thither  annually,  but  who,  on  the  ap- 
proach of  the  deadly  heats  of  summer,  retire  from  the 
province.  There  may  be  said  to  be  only  one  city  in  Geelan, 
that  of  Resht.  It  is  altogether  unlike  a  Persian  town, 
being  neat  and  clean,  and,  instead  of  dingy  walls  of  un- 
baked brick,  the  houses  are  constructed  of  kiln-baked  red 
bricks,  with  wide  projecting  roofs  covered  with  tiles.  The 
city  of  Eesht  is  some  miles  from  the  sea,  and  is  well  pro- 
tected by  jungles  and  by  the  most  abominable  roads  con- 
ceivable. The  Government  studiously  avoids  any  improve- 
ment of  the  roads  of  the  province,  wisely  considering  that, 
coupled  with  its  swamps  and  jungles,  their  present  state 
is  one  of  its  best  defences.  Though  inferior  in  military 
qualities  to  the  inhabitants  of  Mazenderan,  the  natives  of 
Geelan  form  good  irregular  troops  in  their  own  jungles. 

Gipsies  are  found  in  all  parts  of  Persia,  but  in  Geelan 
they  are  more  numerous  than  elsewhere.  They  preserve 
the  characteristics  of  their  race  throughout  the  world. 
Fortune-telling  is  the  occupation  of  the  women.  They  live 
in  little  camps,  formed  of  miserable  tents,  in  which  they 
migrate  from  the  hot  to  the  cold  country,  according  to  the 
season.  The  donkey  is  their  companion,  as  in  England, 
and  his  master  is  the  professional  mender  of  pots  and 
kettles.  In  features  and  habits  they  differ  but  little  from 
their  brethren  in  the  West,  and,  like  them,  they  have  pre- 
served in  their  language  the  traces  of  their  Hindoostanee 
origin.  In  Persian  they  are  called  Kaoolee,  which  word 
is  supposed  to  denote  a  connection  with  an  origin  from 
Cabul. 


380  THE  PERSIAN  AEMY. 


NOTE  ox  THE  PERSIAN  ARMY. 

Origin  of  the  Persian  regular  army  —  English  influence  —  Attempted 
reform  —  Character  of  the  soldier  —  The  officers  —  The  artillery  — 
The  infantry  —  The  cavalry. 

IT  is  to  the  military  genius  of  the  French  that  we  are 
indebted  for  the  formation  of  the  Indian  army.  Our  warlike 
neighbours  were  the  first  to  introduce  into  India  the  system 
of  drilling  native  troops  and  converting  them  into  a  regu- 
larly disciplined  force.  Their  example  was  copied  by  us, 
and  the  result  is  what  we  now  behold. 

The  French  carried  to  Persia  the  same  military  and 
administrative  faculties,  and  established  the  origin  of  the 
present  Persian  regular  army,  as  it  is  styled.  When  Napo- 
leon the  Great  resolved  to  take  Persia  under  his  auspices, 
he  despatched  several  officers  of  superior  intelligence  to  that 
country  with  the  mission  of  General  Gardanne  in  1808. 
These  gentlemen  commenced  their  operations  in  the  pro- 
vinces of  Azerbijan  and  Kermanshah,  and  it  is  said  with 
considerable  success.  English  influence  becoming  supreme, 
and  the  French  Mission  having  quitted  Persia,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  accede  to  the  wishes  of  the  Persian  Government 
and  continue  the  same  military  organization.  Sir  John 
Malcolm  was  accompanied  in  1808  by  two  officers  of  the 
Indian  army,  Major  Christie  and  Lieutenant  Lindsay,  to 
whom  was  confided  this  duty:  they  did  it  well.  Major 
Christie  was  a  man  of  considerable  military  endowments ; 
he  undertook  the  charge  of  the  infantry,  and  was  killed  at 
his  post  at  the  battle  of  Asian dooz  in  1812.  His  able  suc- 
cessor was  Major  Hart,  of  the  Royal  Army.  Under  the 
auspices  and  indefatigable  cooperation  of  Abbas  Meerza, 
heir  apparent  to  the  throne  of  Persia,  by  whom  absolute 
authority  was  confided  to  him,  he  brought  the  infantry  of 
Azerbijan  to  a  wonderful  state  of  perfection.  The  artillery 
was  placed  under  Lieutenant  Lindsay,  afterwards  Major- 
General  Sir  H.  Lindsay.*  This  officer  acquired  extraor- 


*  After  having  attained  the  rank  of  Major- General,  and  the  dignity  of 
Baronet  for  his  services  in  Persia,  Sir  Henry  Bethune  returned  to  that 


THE  PERSIAN  ARMY.  381 

dinary  influence  in  the  army,  and  in  particular  among  the 
artillery.  He  brought  this  branch  of  the  forces  in  Azerbijan 
to  such  a  pitch  of  real  working  perfection,  and  introduced 
so  complete  a  system  of  esprit  de  corps,  that  to  this  day  his 
name  is  venerated,  and  traces  of  his  instruction  still  survive 
in  the  artillery  of  that  province,  which  even  now  preserves 
some  degree  of  efficiency. 

After  the  last  Eussian  war  an  attempt  was  made  to 
reform  the  Persian  army  and  revive  its  discipline.  A  de- 
tachment of  officers  and  Serjeants  was  sent  for  this  purpose 
from  the  Indian  army,  besides  an  officer  of  the  Rifle  Bri- 
gade with  some  Serjeants  from  home.  The  attempt  did  not 
succeed.  After  aiding  in  placing  Mahommed  Shah  on  the 
throne,  distrust  towards  these  officers  took  the  place  of 
former  confidence.  Then  came  the  jealousies  between 
England  and  Persia  relative  to  Afghanistan,  next  the  rup- 
ture of  relations  and  the  removal  of  the  detachment  from 
Persia,  whither  it  has  never  returned.  The  successors  to 
these  English  officers  were  a  body  of  French  military  men, 
whose  efforts  were  a  complete  failure,  though  it  cannot  be 
affirmed  that  the  fault  is  attributable  to  them.  At  present 
the  instruction  of  the  Persian  army  is  in  the  hands  of  a  party 
of  Italian  officers,  refugees  from  Naples  and  Venice,  and  of 
a  few  Hungarian  and  German  officers,  lent  by  Austria  to 
the  Shah.  These  gentlemen  certainly  render  service  within 
their  sphere  and  to  the  extent  of  their  influence,  both  of 
which  are  restrained  to  narrow  bounds. 

Mr.  Morier,  after  an  eulogy  on  the  qualities  of  Persian 
soldiers  of  the  regular  army  in  various  points,  finishes  by 
saying  "  they  are  greatly  deficient  in  the  soldier's  first  art, 
the  art  of  dying."  In  this  sarcasm  Mr.  Morier  seems  to  me 
to  have  done  great  injustice  to  the  profession  of  arms  in 
Persia.  No  irregular  troops,  whether  they  be  native  Per- 


country  for  the  third  time  a  few  years  ago.  More  than  forty  years  had 
passed  since  he  first  went  to  Persia.  The  Persian  Government  would 
gladly  have  accepted  of  his  service,  and  probably  would  have  placed 
him  at  the  head  of  the  army,  but  he  died  in  Tehran  a  few  months  after 
his  arrival.  The  Persian  Government  showed  every  possible  respect  to 
his  memory. 


382  THE  PERSIAN  ARMY. 

sians,  or  Koords,  Arabs,  Afghans,  Toorkomans,  or  Turks, 
are  able  to  contend  with,  the  disciplined  Persian  forces.* 
The  Nizam  of  Persia  and  Turkey  have  never  yet  met ;  but 
in  the  last  contest  between  these  two  nations,  three  or  four 
thousand  Persians  of  the  regular  army  put  to  flight  thirty 
or  forty  thousand  Turks  at  Toprak  Kalla,  between  Bayazeed 
and  Erzeroom. 

The  Persian  soldier  is  active,  energetic,  and  robust,  with 
immense  power  of  enduring  fatigue,  privation,  and  exposure. 
He  is  full  of  intelligence,  and  seems  to  have  a  natural 
aptitude  for  a  military  life.  Half  clothed,  half  fed,  and 
not  even  half  paid,  he  will  make  marches  of  twenty-four 
miles  day  after  day,  and  when  need  be  he  will  extend 
them  to  forty  miles.  He  bears  cold  and  heat  with  equal 
fortitude ;  but  in  the  latter  case,  without  abundance  of 
water,  he  is  soon  overcome.  Unlike  a  sombre  apathetic 
Osinanli,  who,  brave  as  he  is,  hates  the  regular  military  ser- 
vice, the  Persian  soldier  is  full  of  life  and  cheerfulness. 
Somewhat  addicted  to  turbulence,  he  nevertheless  always 
displayed  the  most  complete  submission  to  his  English 
commanders,  for  whom  he  has  ever  had  a  special  veneration. 
A  most  determined  marauder,  he  sometimes  enlists  in  the 
hope  of  plunder ;  this  occurs  particularly  in  Azerbijan.  It 
is  curious  to  see  him  returning  from  a  campaign,  himself  and 
his  faithful  ass  loaded  with  all  sorts  of  household  furniture, 
which  they  have  brought  perhaps  from  a  distance  of  a 
thousand  miles. 

The  unfortunate  soldiers  are  enlisted  for  life,  and  gene- 
rally by  compulsion.  They  are  drawn  almost  entirely  from 
the  wandering  eelyats  of  Toork  and  Lek  tribes,  and  from 
the  ordinary  peasantry.  The  eelyats  have  the  reputation 
of  being  the  best  soldiers,  though,  in  my  opinion,  unde- 
servedly. The  best  regiments  are  those  composed  of  the 
above  classes  indiscriminately.  A  pernicious  habit  has 
been  introduced  of  organizing  regiments  in  tribes,  by  which 
means  clannish  feelings  have  been  nurtured,  and  in  such 


*  Whoever  reads  the  History  of  the  Wars  of  Nadir  will  form  a 
different  estimate  of  the  Persian  soldier  from  the  above  excellent  writer. 


THE  PERSIAN  ARMY.  383 

cases  collisions  between  rival  septs  and  regiments  require  to 
be  guarded  against. 

As -before  said,  the  flower  of  the  Persian  army  is  drawn 
from  Azerbijan.  Less  compulsion  is  necessary  to  obtain 
recruits  in  that  province  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  king- 
dom. The  eelyats  of  Kermanshah  have  also  a  high  reputa- 
tion, and,  above  all,  the  regiments  from  the  two  famous 
Lek  tribes  of  Kelhor  and  Gooran,  which  were  at  one  time 
commanded  by  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson.  I  have  seldom  seen 
finer-looking  soldiers  than  those  of  Kelhor. 

As  the  Persian  soldier  is  good,  so  the  officers  are  the 
reverse.  Excepting  those  of  the  artillery  and  the  few  now 
remaining  who  have  undergone  English  instruction,  they 
are  worthless.  Favour  and  bribery  are  the  groundwork  of 
promotion.  A  person  who  has  passed  forty  or  fifty  years 
of  life  in  pursuits  wholly  unmilitary  is  suddenly  meta- 
morphosed into  a  full  colonel  or  brigadier,  occasionally  into 
a  general,  or  even  into  a  commander-in-chief.  The  other 
ranks  are  filled  in  much  the  same  manner.  In  the  tribe 
regiments  the  position  in  the  clan  establishes  the  rank  in  the 
regiment. 

The  artillery  amounts  to  about  6000  men,  of  whom  nearly 
half  are  from  Azerbijan.  The  last-named  body  is  incom- 
parably the  best  corps  in  the  service,  still  preserving  the 
traces  of  Lindsay  Sahib.  They  are  soldierly,  active,  work- 
manlike fellows,  who  take  their  guns  anywhere.  They  are 
all  mounted,  it  being  the  practice  to  station  upwards  of 
30  men  to  each  gun,  who  are  to  defend  as  well  as  fight  it. 
I  remember  on  one  occasion  seeing  30  guns  moving  out  of 
camp  on  some  expedition,  accompanied  by  a  battalion  of 
800  men.  A  Eussian  general  looking  on  expressed  his 
amazement  that  so  many  pieces  of  artillery  should  have  so  few 
infantry  for  their  defence.  He  was  not  aware  that  in  Persia 
it  is  the  artillery  that  is  expected  to  defend  the  infantry. 

It  is  to  the  English  nation  that  the  Persian  Government 
is  indebted  for  all  its  materials  of  war.  Under  the  in- 
struction of  English  artificers,  a  foundry  was  established 
at  Tabrcez,  where  guns  and  shot  of  every  description  were 
cast,  gun-carriages  were  built,  musket-ammunition  prepared, 


384  THE  PERSIAN  ARMY. 

harness  worked ;  and  outside  the  town  an  efficient  powder- 
mill  was  constructed,  where  good  service-powder  is  manu- 
factured at  the  cost  of  fourpence  a  pound.  These  warlike 
appurtenances  were  transferred  to  Tehran,  where  they  still 
are  in  operation. 

The  regular  infantry  is  nominally  rated  at  more  than 
100,000  men;  but  what  with  false  returns,  incomplete 
regiments,  and  men  on  leave  who  never  return,  the  number 
does  not  in  reality  exceed  70,000.  Of  the  above  number, 
no  less  than  25,000  are  taken  from  the  martial  province  of 
Azerbijan. 

Internal  discipline  may  be  said  to  have  no  existence  in 
the  Persian  army ;  parade  discipline  does  not  extend  much 
beyond  the  knowledge  of  getting  from  column  into  line,  and 
the  reverse,  with  some  awkward  attempts  at  the  formation 
of  a  square. 

All  these  troops  are  armed  with  flint  muskets  and  bayo- 
nets, chiefly  English.  The  greater  part  of  these  arms  may 
be  pronounced  to  be  in  an  inefficient  state.  The  men  are 
clothed  in  blue  linen  jackets  supplied  by  the  state,  under 
which  in  cold  weather  their  own  clothes  are  crammed  :  large 
white  cotton  trousers  and  lapcheens,  a  sort  of  soft  leather 
buskin  which  laces  halfway  up  the  leg  and  is  admirably 
adapted  for  marching  in  dry  weather,  complete  their  dress. 
The  Toork  soldier  wears  on  his  head  the  ordinary  lambskin 
cap  ;  the  Leks  wear  brown  nemed  or  felt  caps.  Knapsacks 
are  not  carried  in  the  Persian  army  ;  thirty  asses  per  com- 
pany are  the  substitute  for  that  article.  Tents  are  allowed 
to  the  regiments. 

Persia  has  preceded  Turkey  in  introducing  Christians  into 
her  army.  For  several  years  there  has  been  a  regiment  of 
Nestorian  Christians  of  Ooroomeeya  in  the  Shah's  service. 
Many  among  them  are  Armenians,  notwithstanding  the  total 
absence  of  military  qualities  in  that  race. 

The  nations  of  the  East  are  thoroughly  satisfied  of  the 
superiority  of  regular  infantry.  Many  years  ago,  when 
travelling  in  Koordistan,  I  passed  through  the  Koordish 
principality  of  Suleimaneeya.  The  chief  had  raised  a  body 
of  200  infantry  from  his  tribe,  armed  with  muskets.  He 


THE  PERSIAN  ARMY.  385 

was  very  proud  of  these  "  regular  troops,"  as  he  called  them. 
He  boasted  of  an  action  he  had  just  fought  with  a  rival  tribe, 
in  which  his  infantry  had  fired  a  volley  and  killed  a  number 
of  the  enemy  while  making  a  charge.  He  treated  with 
contempt  the  idea  of  regular  cavalry.  No  brave  horseman, 
this  chief  said,  would  submit  to  be  so  controlled. 

The  pay  of  a  private  soldier  is  7  tomans  or  about  31.  10s. 
a  year,  besides  a  ration  of  about  3t  Ibs.  of  bread  daily.  A 
battalion  of  850  privates  is  estimated  to  cost  about  15,000  to- 
mans or  7500Z.  annually ;  but  from  tne  incompleteness  of 
the  regiments,  the  real  expenditure  is  milch  less. 

The  cavalry  of  Persia  is  a  numerous  body,  and,  in  fact, 
its  numbers  are  dependent  only  on  the  means  of  payment. 

The  regular  cavalry  consists  of  500  hussars,  supposed  to 
be  like  the  Hungarian  troops  of  the  same  kind.  They  are 
an  absurd  useless  body. 

The  Shah's  body-guard  of  irregular  cavalry  consists  of 
2500  men.  They  are  well  mounted  and  armed,  and  excellent 
horsemen. 

The  irregular  cavalry  is  raised  almost  entirely  among  the 
tribes.  Azerbijan  supplies  6000  of  these  horsemen. 

Since  the  introduction  of  Nizam,  or  disciplined  troops,  the 
Persian  cavalry  has  lost  the  reputation  it  formerly  held. 
Fetteh  Ali  Shah  broke  down  the  tribe  system  as  much  as  lay 
in  his  power,  by  which  means,  if  internal  tranquillity  was 
better  secured,  the  power  of  resisting  foreign  aggression  was 
proportionally  diminished.  The  breed  of  horses  has  been 
thereby  deteriorated,  the  great  khans  of  the  eelyats  have 
disappeared,  and  with  them  the  numerous  studs  which  they 
maintained. 

If  the  Persian  cavalry  has  fallen  from  its  ancient  fame,  it 
is  nevertheless  considered  more  than  a  match  for  Turkish 
troops  of  the  same  description,  and  fully  equal  to  the  Cos- 
sacks of  the  Eussian  army.  I  have  heard  that  in  the  last 
war  the  Persian  horse  never  shunned  an  encounter  with  the 
Cossacks,  above  all  with  those  of  the  Don,  though  they  were 
wholly  incapable  of  contending  with  Eussian  dragoons. 


38G  BEVENUE  OF  PERSIA. 


NOTE  ON  THE  PERSIAN  REVENUE. 

Low  state  of  the  revenue  of  Persia  —  System  of  the  late  Shah  —  Taxes 
—  Expenditure  —  Revenue  from  the  principal  provinces  —  Cultiva- 
tion of  land  —  Causes  of  the  decline  of  Persia. 

THK  sinews  of  war  are  on  an  exceedingly  low  scale  in 
Persia.  Extensive  as  are  the  Shah's  dominions,  equal  to 
nearly  twice  the  size  of  France,  his  income  is  less  than  that 
of  the  smallest  kingdom  in  Europe.  At  the  first  view  of  its 
amount,  one  is  surprised  at  the  success  of  that  Government 
in  maintaining  a  regal  state,  not  only  in  the  capital,  but 
also  its  semblance  in  the  chief  provinces.  An  army  of 
150,000  men  would  seem  to  be  far  beyond  its  powers,  ex- 
clusive of  demands  in  the  shape  of  pensions,  the  clerical 
establishment,  the  overwhelming  oifspring  of  the  Shah's 
great-grandfather,  and  a  variety  of  other  heavy  items  of 
expenditure.  The  scarcity  of  money,  and  consequent 
cheapness  of  labour,  food,  and  of  all  native  productions, 
afford  the  only  explanation  of  this  problem.  The  expen- 
diture of  the  late  Shah  far  exceeded  his  income.  It  was 
totally  out  of  his  Majesty's  power  to  borrow  money  from  his 
own  subjects  ;  one  unfortunate  merchant  at  Tabreez  having 
lent  him  30,000  tomans  at  a  moment  of  great  need,  he  being 
then  a  claimant  for  the  crown,  his  Majesty  forgot  to  repay 
the  debt  when  he  mounted  the  throne.  Persia  has  no  standing 
in  the  loan-market,  so  the  Shah  had  recourse  to  a  species  of 
bank-note  system.  He  issued  berats  or  bills  on  the  pro- 
vincial treasuries  in  payment  of  his  army,  his  servants,  and 
other  creditors.  But  as  the  issues  of  berats  exceeded  ten- 
fold the  amount  of  the  revenue,  none  but  a  favoured  few, 
or  those  who  bribed  highly,  received  payment ;  and  his 
Majesty's  credit  underwent  a  rude  shock.  The  berats 
varied  in  value,  according  to  the  position  of  the  holder, 
from  zero  to  par.  The  latter  was  its  worth  when  held  by 
a  European  consul  in  favour  of  one  of  his  trading  country- 
men ;  the  former  when  the  payee  was  a  friendless  Persian. 


SOURCES  OF  REVENUE.  337 

This  system  was  a  mine  of  wealth  to  the  provincial  go- 
vernors. They  bought  the  bills  from  the  payees,  who  were 
in  general  happy  to  receive  10  or  20  per  cent,  of  their 
amount,  and  charged  them  to  the  Shah  at  the  full  sum  in 
the  accounts  of  the  disbursements  of  their  province.  A\  hen 
the  late  king  died,  all  the  outstanding  bills  were  declared 
null  and  void,  a  step  which  greatly  relieved  the  Persian 
exchequer.  His  present  Majesty  has  made  a  fresh  start  on 
the  road  of  probity.  Economy  is  cultivated,  the  soldiers 
and  servants  are  paid,  and  efforts  are  made  to  restrain  the 
expenditure  within  the  limits  of  the  income  of  the  state. 

The  principal  source  of  the  revenue  of  Persia  is  derived 
from  the  land-tax.  The  rate  is  not  uniform,  different  assess- 
ments having  been  made  at  various  periods,  more  or  less 
remote,  since  which  time  great  changes  have  taken  place  in 
the  lands  assessed.  The  average  is  supposed  to  be  about 
20  per  cent,  on  the  gross  produce,  although  in  some  dis- 
tricts it  amounts  to  even  30.  Besides  this  impost  there  are 
taxes  on  gardens,  vineyards,  shops,  melon,  cotton,  rice,  and 
tobacco  grounds,  sheep,  asses,  buffaloes,  bullocks,  camels, 
wells,  kanfits,  mills,  which  vary  in  the  different  provinces 
and  even  districts,  not  only  in  amount  but  in  the  nature  of 
the  object  taxed.  Tn  one  province  there  is  a  poll-tax  for 
males  above  fourteen  years  of  age,  which  in  another  province 
is  substituted  by  a  house,  or,  as  it  is  called,  a  door-tax,  and 
again  in  another  neither  of  these  imposts  is  levied.  In 
many  districts  no  revenue  whatever  is  levied,  the  land  being 
held  free  on  a  sort  of  feudal  tenure  in  requital  of  militaiy 
service ;  in  general  the  tent-dwelling  eels  pay  no  tax  on 
land,  the  quantity  cultivated  by  those  tribes  being  small. 
Another  and  considerable  source  of  exemption  from  taxation 
is  land  which  has  been  made  wakf,  that  is,  dedicated  to 
religious  purposes,  such  as  land  attached  to  mosques. 

Altogether  the  system  is  not  free  from  complication,  and 
requires  all  the  ingenuity  of  the  Persian  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  to  unravel  it. 

It  is  conjectured  that  through  the  extortions  of  governors 
and  their  subordinates,  chiefs  of  districts,  villages,  mo- 
hessils,  or  tax-gatherers,  the  ryots  pay  double  the  amount  of 

s  2 


388  SOUECES  OF  REVENUE. 

their  assessments,  no  part  of  which  excess  reaches  the  Shah's 
treasury. 

The  revenue  is  paid  part  in  money  and  part  in  kind,  con- 
sisting of  wheat,  barley,  rice,  chaff,  or  chopped  straw. 

To  make  the  following  statements  intelligible,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  explain  that  a  toman  is  roughly  estimated  at  about 
ten  shillings  sterling,  and  that  a  kherwar  is  equal  to  650  Ibs., 
or  6  cwt. 

Four  years  ago  the  total  revenue  in  money  amounted  to 
2,677,000  tomans. 

The  income  produced  by  wheat  and  barley  reached 
245,237  kherwars,  which  is  rated,  on  an  average,  at  2  to- 
mans a  kherwar.  It  is  sometimes  compounded  for  in  money, 
but  not  generally. 

Rice  produced  4487  kherwars,  at  the  average  valuation  of 
2  tomans  a  kherwar. 

Chaff  for  horses  amounted  to  10,895  kherwars,  which  is 
valued  at  3  kerans,  or  shillings,  each  kherwar. 

The  grain  not  compounded  for  in  money  is  generally 
expended  in  rations  to  soldiers,  provisioning  the  Shah's 
camp,  and  so  forth. 

If  the  value  of  the  revenue  paid  in  kind  be  estimated 
in  money,  it  amounts  to  something  more  than  500,000  to- 
mans, which  would  make  the  total  revenue  of  Persia  ascend 
to  about  3,177,000  tomans,  or  1,588,000?. 

Of  this  amount,  no  less  a  sum  than  800,000  tomans  is 
expended  at  the  capital  in  salaries  and  allowances  to  the 
members  of  the  different  departments  of  the  state  and  their 
subordinates,  and  to  the  other  public  servants,  exclusive  of 
the  army.  The  following  are  a  few  of  these  items,  which 
in  the  public  accounts  are  classed  as  amelajat : — 

Tomans. 

The  Prime  Minister  of  England  receives  5000?.  a-year, 
but  in  Persia  the  salary  of  the  same  office,  exclusive 
of  other  emoluments,  which  treble  the  income,  is  ..  42,000 

Allowances  to  the  numerous  royal  family 257,126 

Khans  and  nobles 98,276 

Arbab  e  Kallem — lords  of  the  pen       18,110 

Ulema,  moollas,  syeds,  &c 4,110 

Physicians,  poets,  interpreters,  &c 18,843 


EXPENDITURE.  389 

Salaries   of  the  attendants  in   the   royal  stables  for 

camels,  horses,  mules,  including  fodder 17,5-10 

Khans  of  the  royal  tribe  (kajar) 21,302 

Refugees  from  Georgia  and  Ilussian  Armenia  and  Herat  77,597 
Master  of  ceremonies  and  attendants  of  the  presence  18,428 
Attendants  of  the  Deewan  Khana,  or  court  of  justice  2,764 
Tutors  and  attendants  of  the  Dar  ool  foonoon  ve 

ooloom,  or  seat  of  arts  and  sciences •.        7,750 

Loss  of  revenue  by  the  transfer  of  two  villages  to  the 
ministers  of  England  and  Russia  for  their  summer 

residence 143 

Musketeers  of  the  Shah's  own  person 9,640 

Gholam  1'eeshkhidmet,  special  mounted  guards,  and 
other  mounted  guards       103,549 

I  omit  any  mention  of  attendants  and  expenses  connected 
with  the  Shah's  own  person  for  the  maintenance  of  regal 
state ;  but  I  may  mention  that  in  proportion  to  the  resources 
of  Persia  the  expenditure  is  considerable. 

To  all  the  above  receivers  of  salaries  a  certain  portion  of 
grain  is  also  allotted. 

The  total  expenditure  from  the  net  revenue  of  2,677,000 
tomans  is  summed  up  in  the  following  manner : — 

Tomans. 
General    expenses,   including    presents,    buildings, 

posting  establishment,  &c 335,521 

Amelajat — salaries  at  the  capital      805,985 

Total  military  expenses      1,222,764 

Provincial  expenses  (besides  the  ordinary  provincial 

expenses  not  included  iu  the  net  revenue)    ..      ..      292,331 

2,650,601 

The  balance,  when  there  is  any,  is  spent  in  various  un- 
certain expenses,  such  as  diainond-hilted  swords,  decora- 
tions, extraordinary  military  expenses  caused  by  insurrec- 
tion, &c. 

The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  revenue  of  the  prin- 
cipal provinces  of  Persia,  and  will  serve  to  show  their  com- 
parative value.  It  is  derived  from  an  authentic  source,  as 
authentic,  at  least,  as  a  Persian  aiithority  can  be  considered, 
and  contains  probably  an  approximation  to  the  truth.  The 
amount  of  revenue  collected  in  grain  is  omitted,  as  being  of 
less  interest : — 

8  3 


390  CULTIVATION  OF  LAND. 

Tomans. 
Khorassan  —  nett  money   revenue,  after  deducting 

provincial  expenses 227,000 

Azerbijan      620,000 

Asterabad ..  23,000 

Mazenderan  .. '.  102,000 

Geelan 238,000 

Kerman         ..      ..  101,000 

Isfahan 332,000 

Hamadan      65,000 

Kerrnanshah 79,000 

Fars       403,000 

Looristan  and  Arabistan      • 130,000 

Ardelan  (Koordistan) 32,000 

Yezd      73,000 

Tehran  and  adjacent  districts      122,000 

Casween,  Khemseh,  Gerroos,  Taroom,  Talighan      ..  132,000 
Central  Irak,  comprehending  Kashan,  Koom,  Gelpaec- 

gan,  Sava,  Melayer,  &c.           312,000 

2,991,000 

As  the  culture  of  land  is  the  main  prop  of  the  Persian 
Government,  it  may  not  be  irrelevant  to  state  in  connection 
with  the  revenue  the  manner  in  which  cultivation  is  con- 
ducted, and  the  relation  between  landlord  and  tenant. 
There  is  no  "  fixity  of  tenure  "  in  Persia  established  by  law, 
though  it  exists  to  the  fullest  extent  in  the  only  way  it 
ought  to  exist,  the  mutual  benefit  of  the  landlord  and  the 
tenant,  and  also  by  custom,  which  is  nearly  equivalent  to 
law.  In  a  thinly-peopled  country  like  Persia,  it  is  the  in- 
terest of  the  landlord  to  conciliate  his  tenants  and  perpetuate 
their  residence  on  his  property.  A  landowner  seldom  farms 
his  own  estate ;  he  generally  lets  it  to  tenants,  or,  more 
strictly  speaking,  a  partnership  is  established  between  the 
latter  and  the  landlord.  The  conditions  of  their  compact, 
and  the  division  of  the  produce,  vary  according  to  circum- 
stances and  to  the  capital  contributed  by  each.  When  the 
proprietor  furnishes  all  the  capital — the  soil,  the  seed,  the 
bullocks,  ploughs,  and  water — the  gross  produce  is  in  gene- 
ral, for  there  are  variations  in  the  different  provinces, 
divided  in  the  following  manner  : — Out  of  100  shares  the 
Government  takes  20,  and  the  remaining  80  are  divided 
equally  by  the  landlord  and  his  tenant.  In  Ooroomeeya  the 


CAUSES  OF  DECLINE  OF  PERSIA.       391 

landlord  takes  10  shares  besides,  leaving  70  shares  for 
division.  When  the  tenant  contributes  bullocks  and  ploughs, 
as  often  happens,  or  seed,  which  he  occasionally  does,  his 
share  is,  of  course,  large  in  proportion. 

Landlords  treat  their  tenants  well,  which  it  is  obviously 
their  interest  to  do.  It  is  from  teeool-holders,  mohessils,  and 
irregular  arbitrary  taxation,  that  the  peasantry  suffer  vexa- 
tion and  extortion.  A  teeool-holder  is  a  person  who  receives 
his  salary  by  an  assignment  on  the  assessment  of  a  village. 
Having  no  interest  in  its  prosperity,  his  only  care  is  to 
exact  all  he  can  from  the  ryots.  A  mohessil  is  a  tax- 
gatherer. 

The  following  extracts  of  a  letter,  addressed  by  me  to  a 
person  of  distinction  in  Persia,  exhibits  some  of  the  evils  of 
Persian  administration : — 

"  Persia  was  once  a  great  and  powerful  kingdom.  Why 
has  it  ceased  to  be  so  ?  With  every  natural  advantage,  a 
fine  climate,  a  fruitful  soil,  an  active  and  intelligent  popu- 
lation, why  has  Persia  not  only  stood  still,  but  even  declined, 
while  other  nations  are  fast  increasing  in  power  and  re- 
sources. I  will  not  quote  India,  with  its  immense  army,  its 
enormous  commerce,  its  railways,  its  telegraphs.  Turkey, 
however,  is  a  fair  parellel  with  Persia,  from  the  similarity 
of  manners,  religion,  and  race.  A  few  years  ago  they  were 
both  in  the  same  condition ;  but  at  this  moment  there  is 
as  much  difference  between  the  two  countries  as  there  is 
between  Turkey  and  one  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe. 
There  must  be  a  reason  for  the  decay  visible  in  Persia,  and 
that  reason  can  only  be  found  in  bad  government — bad 
government  in  civil  affairs  and  bad  government  in  the 
affairs  of  the  army.  Unless  there  be  security  in  life  and 
property — if  both  the  one  and  the  other  are  at  the  nod  of 
arbitrary  power— a  nation  may  exist,  but  it  can  never  pros- 
per, never  advance. 

"  A  national  reform  is  a  work  of  time  and  of  gradual 
amelioration  ;  but  there  are  some  flagrant  abuses,  the  imme- 
diate correction  of  which  would  be  a  boon  to  the  people,  and 
greatly  strengthen  the  power  of  the  Government. 

"  The  sources  of  vexation  and  oppression  which  touch 


392  CAUSES  OF  DECLINE  OF  PERSIA. 

most  nearly  the  population  at  large,  particularly  the  peasant 
class,  are  perhaps  the  mohessil  (tax-collector)  and  seoorsat 
(provisions  levied  from  the  people  gratuitously).  Almost 
every  transaction  of  the  Government  is  performed  through 
a  mohessil,  and  every  mohessil  is  a  tyrant,  an  oppressor — 
in  general  a  thorough  ruffian.  The  Shah  sends  his  mo- 
hessil to  the  governor  of  the  province,  the  latter  thereupon 
despatches  his  mohessil  to  the  governor  of  towns  and 
districts,  and  then  finally  to  each  separate  village.  It  is 
here  at  its  lowest  stage  that  the  system  works  so  grievously. 
The  mohessil  makes  himself  lord  and  master  of  the  village, 
and  every  one  bows  down  to  his  caprices.  It  is  true,  I 
know,  that  the  Persian  peasant  pays  his  taxes  with  hesita- 
tion, and  that  compulsion  is  often  necessary  to  enforce 
payment.  But  what  is  the  cause  of  this  reluctance  ?  He 
fears,  if  he  did  not  counterfeit  poverty  and  inability  to  meet 
the  demands  made  on  him,  he  would  be  thought  rich,  and 
become  a  mark  for  ex-tortion.  Let  him  but  feel  secure  from 
arbitrary  exaction,  and  it  will  be  his  interest  to  pay  his 
taxes  without  delay. 

"  The  gratuitous  distribution  of  food,  or  seoorsat,*  is 
another  fruitful  source  of  oppression.  It  is  true  that  some 
allowance  is  pretended  to  be  made  to  the  villagers,  but  it  is 
never  adequate,  and  is  no  compensation  for  the  violence 
and  oppression  which  attends  the  exaction  of  seoorsat.  The 
above  mohessils  are  among  the  great  offenders,  for  every 
one  of  them  must  be  supplied  according  to  his  caprices. 
But  it  is  a  governor  or  other  functionary  travelling  to  his 
post  who  is  a  scourge  to  the  peasantry. 

"  The  remedy  for  all  this  extortion  should  come  from  the 
Shah's  example.  When  the  sovereign  travels  let  him  re- 
nounce seoorsat,  and  let  him  pay  for  every  article  he  con- 
sumes, and  force  his  retinue  to  do  the  same.  If  there  should 
be  any  exception,  it  should  be  only  in  favour  of  regiments 
on  the  march ;  though  even  then  the  abuse  is  enormous,  and 
the  colonel  and  officers  are  the  greatest  plunderers. 


*  Seoorsat  means  provisions  supplied  at  villages  nominally  on  account 
of  government  to  certain  travellers,  such  as  elchees,  governors,  public 
servants,  government  messengers,  &c. 


PERSIAN  TRIBES.  393 

"  Tlie  issue  of  berats,  or  Government  bills,  payable  in 
the  provinces,  which  are  again  made  payable  in  the  districts, 
should  cease,  because  it  is  a  perpetuation  of  the  mohessil 
system.  Berfits  generally  require  the  despatch  of  inohessils 
for  the  collection  of  the  money,  and  thence  follows  the  per- 
petuation of  that  voracious  tribe,  more  destructive  to  the 
welfare  of  Persia  than  the  locusts  which  afflict  it. 

"  The  salaries  of  governors  of  provinces,  towns,  and  dis- 
tricts, are  absurdly  large  in  proportion  to  the  revenue  of 
Persia.  The  governors  of  provinces  seem  to  have  salaries 
on  the  same  scale  as  the  Governor- General  of  India. 

"  When  governors  travel  from  one  part  of  their  province 
to  another,  besides  the  seoorsat  already  alluded  to,  the  inha- 
bitants suffer  enormously  from  the  obligation  of  making 
him  large  presents  throughout  his  progress.  With  his  ex- 
orbitant income,  why  should  the  people  be  loaded  with  this 
irregular  taxation  ? 

"  The  Shah  is  a  heavy  loser  from  the  silly  practice  of  the 
Government  functionaries,  high  and  low,  keeping  in  their 
service  a  rabble  of  attendants,  and  ostentatiously  parading 
about  the  streets  with  a  crowd  of  followers.  Why  should 
the  Sedr  Azim  appear  with  a  retinue  of  two  or  three  hundred 
persons,  and  every  one  else  in  proportion,  down  to  the 
pettiest  meerza?  This  class  of  persons,  besides  being  the' 
most  dissolute  and  extortionate  of  all  Persia,  are  withdrawn 
from  their  proper  sphere  of  artisans  and  peasants.  Their 
payment,  too,  falls  on  the  people.  Their  masters  seldom 
give  them  wages,  and  they  remunerate  them  by  letting  them 
loose  on  the  population  as  mohessils." 


NOTE  ox  TRIBES. 

Tribes  and  races  —  Leks  and  Koords  —  Arabs  —  Decline  of  the  tribe 
system  —  Enumeration  of  tribes. 

PKRSIA  is  overrun  with  tribes.  If  both  the  wandering 
and  the  stationary  clans  be  taken  into  calculation,  it  may 
be  questioned  if  the  eels  do  not  equal  in  number  the  other 
portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  country. 


394  PERSIAN  TRIBES. 

The  tribes  are  divided  into  three  races — Toorks,  Leks, 
and  Arabs.  The  first  are  the  invaders  from  Toorkistan, 
who,  from  time  immemorial,  have  established  themselves 
in  Persia,  and  who  still  preserve  their  language.  The  Leks 
form  the  clans  of  genuine  Persian  blood,  such  as  the  Loors, 
Bekhtiarees,  &c.  To  them  might  be  added  the  Koords,  as 
members  of  the  Persian  family  ;  but  their  numbers  in  the 
dominions  of  the  Shah  are  comparatively  few,  the  greater 
part  of  that  widely-spread  people  being  attached  to  Turkey. 
Collectively  the  Koords  are  so  numerous  that  they  might 
be  regarded  as  a  nation  divided  into  distinct  tribes. 

Who  are  the  Leks,  and  who  are  the  Koords  ?  This  in- 
quiry I  cannot  solve.  I  never  met  any  one  in  Persia,  either 
eel  or  moolla,  who  could  give  the  least  elucidation  of  this 
question.  All  they  could  say  was,  that  both  these  races 
were  Foors  e  kadeem, — old  Persians.  They  both  speak 
dialects  the  greater  part  of  which  is  Persian,  bearing  a 
strong  resemblance  to  the  colloquial  language  of  the  present 
day,  divested  of  its  large  Arabic  mixture.  These  dialects 
are  not  perfectly  alike,  though  it  is  said  that  Leks  and 
Koords  are  able  to  comprehend  each  other.  One  would  be 
disposed  to  consider  them  as  belonging  to  the  same  stock, 
did  they  not  both  disavow  the  connection.  A  Lek  will 
admit  that  a  Koord,  like  himself,  is  an  "  old  Persian,"  but 
he  denies  that  the  families  are  identical,  and  a  Koord  views 
the  question  in  the  same  light. 

The  natives  on  the  flat  coast  of  the  Persian  Gulf  are 
chiefly  descendants  of  Arab  settlers  from  the  opposite  shore, 
whose  language  they  speak,  but  who  cannot  properly  be 
called  eels.  They  are  stationary  communities  on  a  great 
length  of  coast,  bound  together  by  the  ordinary  ties  of 
locality,  race,  and  language.  But  in  various  parts  of  the 
interior  of  Persia  there  are  tribes  who  preserve  the  appella- 
tion of  Arab,  derived,  no  doubt,  from  the  Arabian  con- 
querors, or  from  subsequent  immigrants.  These  eels  have, 
however,  become  complete  Persians,  and  have  preserved 
no  trace  of  their  origin  either  in  language  or  appearance. 

The  tent-dwelling  eel  is  to  be  recognised  by  his  bold 
and  manly  air  and  his  free  and  independent  look.  All  the 


PERSIAN  TRIBES.  395 

great  robber  tribes  are  Persian :  not  that  the  Toorks  do 
not  rob  also,  but  among  the  former  it  is  their  trade,  pro- 
fession, and  occupation.  Thus  the  Loors,  Bekhtiarees, 
Kakawends,  Mamasenees,  are  Persian  tribes  and  desperate 
marauders.  As  before  said,  a  Toork  is  to  be  distinguished 
by  his  grave,  manly,  rugged  air.  The  Lek  is  known  by  his 
wild,  restless,  ferocious  look  ;  I  have  heard  them  compared 
to  wild  cats,  and  there  is  truth  in  the  observation. 

The  habits  engendered  by  a  wandering  life,  living  in 
communities  separated  from  the  ordinary  portion  of  the 
population,  and  presided  over  by  great  nobles,  whose  com- 
mands, either  for  aggression  against  their  neighbours  or 
resistance  to  the  law,  were  readily  obeyed  by  the  turbu- 
lent clansmen,  are  unfavourable  to  internal  tranquillity. 
Thus,  after  the  overthrow  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Sef- 
fces  by  the  Afghans,  each  succession  to  the  throne  be- 
came the  signal  for  convulsion.  The  great  lords  of  the 
eelyats  did  their  utmost  to  perpetuate  a  system  which 
secured  to  them  consideration,  power,  and  independence. 
Fetteh  Ali  Shah  was  a  luxurious  monarch,  but  he  was  a 
man  of  penetration  and  sagacity  who  thoroughly  understood 
his  countrymen.  All  his  energy  was  devoted  to  the  over- 
throw of  the  tribe  system,  or,  at  least,  to  render  it  harmless. 
Many  of  the  chiefs  were  put  to  death,  others  were  brought 
to  court ;  some  tribes  were  broken  up  and  incorporated  in 
various  clans,  others  were  removed  from  their  original 
seats.  The  result  has  been  that  at  this  day,  excepting  the 
chief  of  the  great  tribe  of  Kashka'i,  in  Fars,  and  of  Zaferan- 
loo,  in  Khorassan,  few  of  the  chiefs  or  tribes  are  able  to  exer- 
cise a  preponderating  influence  in  the  affairs  of  the  country. 

Now  that  regular  armies  and  an  overwhelming  force  in 
artillery  are  the  order  of  the  day,  the  tribe  system  is  a 
failure,  unless  in  supplying  recruits,  in  which  respect, 
however,  the  ordinary  population  is  not  inferior.  The 
eelyat  horsemen  might  be  employed  like  the  Cossacks, 
and,  in  an  occupation  so  congenial  to  their  nature,  in 
proper  hands  they  might  be  made  as  iiseful  as  those  irre- 
gular troops,  to  whom  they  believe  themselves  fully  a 
match. 


396         .  PERSIAN  TRIBES. 

Among  the  Toork  tribes  Turkish,  is  the  prevailing  lan- 
guage, to  which  they  often  add  Persian.  The  Lek  tribes 
speak  their  own  dialect,  besides  either  Persian  or  Turkish, 
according  to  locality. 

The  following  enumeration  of  tribes  is  derived  from  a 
variety  of  sources.  As  these  sources  are  entirely  Persian, 
there  are,  no  doubt,  many  errors,  and  I  am  equally  certain 
that  the  enumeration  of  the  clans  is  by  no  means  exhausted. 

The  stationary  eels  are  termed  either  Tats,  or  Takhteh 
Kapoo  ;  the  latter  term  implies  that  their  doors  are  made  of 
wood,  that  is,  that  they  live  in  houses.  They  are  also 
termed  Deh  nisheen,  which  means  village-dwellers. 

The  cool  summer  residences  of  the  tribes  are  called 
Yelak,  the  winter  abodes  are  named  Kishlak.  They  are 
Turkish  words. 

TRIBES  OF  AZERBIJAN. 

Shaheeseven — 10,000  tents.     Toorks.     Live  in  Mishkeen,  Ardebil. 

Sheghaghee — 15,000  houses  and  tents.     Leks. 

Zergei — 400  tents.     Leks. 

Chelebeeariloo — 1500  tents  and  houses.  ]  r  t        n    'A 

Koolbegloo  and  Mishkamber—^00  tents  and  houses.  I    .*'     J 

Karachoorloo— 2500  tents  and  houses.  j    ' 

Khajeh  Aliloo—800  tents  and  houses.     1  T      k       T  •      •    K 

Beg  Dilloo—200  tents  and  houses.  J     /r  «Th'    Llve  ] 

Shekloo — 150  tents  and  houses. 

Mookaddam — 5000  houses.     Tats.     Toorks.     Live  at  Maragha. 

Mahmoudloo — 2500  houses.  Chiefly  Tats.  Toorks.  Live  near 
Maragha. 

Beharloo— 2000  houses.     Chiefly  Tats.     Toorks. 

Afshar — 7000  houses.     Tats.     Toorks.     Live  in  Ooroomeeya. 

Ahmedawend — 200  houses.     Tats.    Leks.     Live  in  Ooroomeeya. 

Kara  Papakh — 1500  houses.     Tats.     Toorks.    Live  in  Sooldooz. 

Do&mbelli—ZQQO  houses.     Tats.     Leks. 

Mikree — 15,000  houses  and  tents.  Koords.  Reside  in  Sowj 
Boolak,  in  Azerbijan.  These  Koords  are  completely  subject  to  Persia. 

Baban — 1500  houses  and  tents.     Koords.     Live  at  Sooldooz. 

Tribes  in  Mazenderan. 
Kajjar — 2000  houses. 

Abdool  Melekee — 600  tents  and  houses.     Leks. 
Khajehwend — 400  tents  and  houses.     Leks. 
Janbegloo — 50  houses.     Toorks. 
Imamloo — 50  houses.     Toorks. 
Oosanloo — 50  houses.     Toorks. 
Afshar — 100  houses.     Toorks. 


PERSIAN  TRIBES.  397 


TRIBES  OF  TEHRAN,  &c. 

Shaheeseven — 9000  tents.  Toorks.  Dispersed  over  a  large  tract, 
according  to  the  season,  between  Koom,  Tehran,  Casveen,  Zenjan. 

Kharehkanloo,  Bajmdnloo,  Koondeshloo,  Khellij,  Khoda  Bendeh- 
loot  are  eels  living  in  the  town  of  Tehran.  400  houses.  Toorks. 

Afshar — 900  tents  and  houses.  Toorks.  Live  between  Tehran 
and  Cazveen. 

Toork  e  Mdfee — 100  houses  and  tents.     Toorks  and  Leks. 

Paeerewend,  Jelleelawend,  Kakawend,  Gheeasawend,  Chegeenee 
— 500  tents  and  houses,  but  chiefly  houses.  Leks.  Live  near 
Cazveen. 

Hedawend,  \ 

Boorboor,      | — 1000  tents  and  houses.     Leks. 

Sylsepoor,     J. 

Arabs  of  Demawend,  j 

Kengerloo  Toorks  and  Leks,   > — 1000  tents  and  houses. 

Kara  Choorloo,  } 

Pazekee — 2000  tents  and  houses.     Toorks  and  Leks. 

Arab — 2000  tents  and  houses. 

Kellehkooh,   l_150houses>     ToorkSi 

Gavbaz,        ) 

Zerger — 600  tents.     Leks.     Are  reputed  as  thieves  and  coiners. 

Fooyooj — 300  tents  near  Tehran.  Toorks.  A  base  tribe :  are 
thieves  and  fortune-  tellers  :  very  poor.  Dispersed  all  over  Persia. 

Koord  Bacheh — 400  tents.     Leks. 

Abul  Hassanee,   i 

Jehan  Begloo,      !> — 320  tents  and  houses.     Toorks. 

Shadloo, 

Shah  Servaree — 250  tents.     Leks.     Live  to  the  south  of  Tehran. 

Nana  Kellee — 650  tents.     Leks.     Live  to  the  south  of  Tehran. 

Oosanloo — 1000  tents  and  houses.  Toorks.  Live  at  Khar  and 
Demawend. 

Mafee  (including  Pyrawend,  Haroonawend,  Shooeerawend,  Shah- 
verdeeawend,  Aapanawend} — 1000  houses.  Leks.  Live  near  Caz- 
ween. 


TRIBES  OF  KHEMSEH  (a  district  between  Tehran  and  Tabreez,  of 
which  the  capital  is  Zenjan). 

Gerroos.     A  large  tribe  of  Toorks.     4000  or  5000  houses. 

Shaheeseven  e  Afshar — 2500  tents.     Toorks. 

I!eshwend — 300  tents.     Leks. 

Khoda  Bendehloo — 600  houses. 

Dodangeh — 150  houses. 

Zoolkader — 200  houses.  (   „,      •, 

Mookadem—150  houses. 

Afshar — 200  houses. 

Koortbegloo — 1500  houses. 


393  PERSIAN  TEIBES. 

All  the  tribes  of  Khemseh  live  in  houses  in  winter,  the 
cold  being  severe.  In  summer  they  live  in  tents,  arid  do 
not  wander  far. 

TRIBES  OF  KERMAN. 

Afshur — 1500  houses.     Toorks. 
Kardee — 700  houses.     Toorks. 
Ata  Illahee — 3000  tents  and  houses.     Leks. 
Klioormalbend — 100  tents.     Leks. 

Leestanee — 150  houses.  Belooches.  Live  in  Bemm  and  Ner- 
rr.ansheer. 

TRIBES  OF  HAMADAN,  MELLAYER,  TOOSIRKAN,  FERAHAN,  frc., 
IN  IRAK. 

Karagiuzloo — 4000  houses.     Toorks. 
Zehrawend,      1 

Keeasawend*  I  T  , 

Jeledawend,   M«»  tents  and  houses.     Leks. 

Paerawend,    ] 

Zend — 100  houses  and  tents.     Leks. 

Khellij.     A  large  tribe  of  Toorks. 

TRIBES  OF  FARS. 
Tribes  in  Sheer  at  and  the  vicinity. 

Feilee — 100  houses.     Leks.     Persian  and  Lek. 
Bydt — 120  houses.     Toorks. 
Bergooshadee — 50  houses.     Toorks. 
Goorrdnee — 100  houses.     Leks. 

Kajar  Afshar.  A  mixed  tribe  of  Toorks  and  Leks.  Toorks 
250  houses ;  Leks  100  houses. 

Abulverdee — 300  tents.     Are  smugglers  engaged  in  trade. 
Tewellellee — 40  houses.     Toorks.     Cultivators. 
Ameleh — 40  houses.     Toorks.     Cultivators. 
Goorranee — 300  tents  and  houses.     Leks. 
Nana  Kellee — 60  tents.     Leks. 
Shaheeseven — 60  tents.     Toorks. 
Dehboozoorgee — 100  houses.     Leks. 

Zerger.     Leks.  1    -IAAT^ 

if       ft     i         mi        f    100  nouses. 

Kara  Goozloo.     Toorks.    I 

Basilee — 3300  tents.     Are  of  Arab  descent. 

Arab — 7300  tents  (divided  into  41  branches). 

Kdshkai — 30,000  or  40,000  tents.  Toorks.  Is  composed  of 
various  clans,  who  have  joined  together  and  formed  this  large  tribe. 
The  principal  branch  of  this  great  tribe  is  called  Ameleh,  consisting 
of  3300  tents,  presided  over  by  the  Eelkhanee,  chief  or  lord  of  the 
eels.  Being  so  powerful,  the  Kashkai  are  able  to  select  their  own 


PERSIAN  TRIBES.  399 

pasture-grounds :  their  yelak  or  summer  residence  ranges  as  far  as 
the  frontier  of  Ispahan  at  Gendooman.  Many  of  the  clans  dwell 
in  winter  on  the  germseer  or  low  flat  land  on  the  coast.  Some  go 
to  Laristan  and  Deshtee.  Several  of  the  clans  dwell  among  the 
Bakhtiarees  near  the  great  mountains  of  Janikee,  particularly  the 
great  mountain  Padina,  which  is  always  covered  with  snow.  The 
Kashkai  thus  range  over  a  great  extent  of  country,  doing  great 
injury  in  their  movements.  They  are  rich  in  flocks  and  herds. 

Mamasennee — 8000  tents  and  houses.  Leks.  Are  a  most  law- 
less tribe.  They  live  to  the  west  of  Cazeroon.  Some  years  ago 
they  were  a  powerful  clan,  but  they  have  been  reduced  of  late. 
About  twenty  years  ago  a  body  of  these  Mamasennees  were  besieged 
by  a  force  consisting  of  regular  troops  from  Azerbijan.  Rather  than 
fall  into  the  hands  of  these  Toorks,  the  women,  said  to  be  nearly 
100  in  number,  threw  themselves  over  the  precipice  with  their  chil- 
dren, and  were  dashed  to  pieces. 

The  enumeration  of  the  Teerehs,  or  branches  of  the 
Kashkai  and  Mamasennee,  is  omitted  as  being  tedious. 

Indnloo — 4800  tents  and  houses.  Toorks.  Live  in  Darab  and 
Fessa. 

TRIBES  OF  BEHBIHAN  AND  KOHGILOOYA. 

Bewee— 1200  tents. 

Kohmerree — 800  tents 

Bove'ir — 2000  tents.        "I    Live  in  Kohgilooya.      Broken  down 

Chooroom — 1000  tents.   /        tribe. 

Nooee — 1000  tents.     Broken  down. 

Dooskmen  Zeearee — 500  tents. 

Yoosoofee — 400  tents. 

Tyebbee— 1000  tents.     A  rich  tribe. 

Behmaee — 2500  tents. 

Sheer  Ali         \ 

Shehrooee.        MJJ?  te.nts'     Llve  tetvrvn  Ram  Hoomuh  and 

Mdlahmedee.    }       Sheerter- 

Aghajeree.        j 

Jaghatai.         \ — 1000  tents.     Rich. 

Keshted.          } 

Teelehkoohee.  "j 

Beelehloo.  \ — 1000  tents.     Leks. 

Jameh  Boozoorgee.    j 

Ncfer — 850  tents.    Toorks.   Roam  through  different  parts  of  Fare. 

Beharloo—1230  tents.     Toorks. 

TRIBES  OF  LARISTAN. 

Mezaijan.  This  is  the  name  of  a  place,  and  gives  the  name  to 
the  tribe.  300  tents.  Rich  in  flocks  and  herds.  The  lambskins 
of  Fars  come  from  hence. 

Jahoomee — 60  tents. 

Bekir— 500  tents. 

T2 


>    Live  near  the  Mamasennees. 


400  PERSIAN  TRIBES. 

KHORASSAN. 
Toorbet  e  Sheikh  Jam. 

Jame  e  Jam  is  the  name  of  a  district  on  the  eastern  frontier,  of 
which  the  capital  is  Toorbet  e  Sheikh  Jam.  250  houses.  Speak 
Persian. 

Khaff,  Tymooree — 4000  tents  and  houses.  Language  Persian. 
Live  at  Khaff. 

Toorbet  Hydereeya. 

Kardee — 5000  tents  and  houses.  \ 

Belooch — 2000  tents  and  houses.  ,   -r, 

Xefc-1000  tents  and  houses.  [  A11  sreak  Persian" 

Miscellaneous — 2000  tents  and  houses.  I 

Toorsheez  district  and  toivn  contains — 

Arab — 4000  houses  and  tents.      \  T  or,        ,„  -pn-  „ 
Belooch-2000  tents  and  houses.   }  Language  Persum. 

Toon  and  Tebbes,  names  of  two  districts,  whose  chief  towns  are 
of  the  same  name. 

Arab  e  Reiyoonee — 7000  houses  and  tents.     Language  Persian. 
Kaen,  name  of  district  and  town. 

Arab — 12,000  houses  and  tents.  1   T  T>     • 

^Mee-number  not  known.       }  Lan§ua§e  Pereian- 

Serhedddt,  meaning  the  tribes  on  the  frontiers  of  Meshed. 

Tymooree — 2000  tents  and  houses.     Live  at  Kezghoon. 

Merdee — 700  houses.     Toorks.     Are  dispersed  in  various  places. 

Moozdoordnee — 130  houses.  Language  Persian.  Live  at  Pery 
Bast,  20  miles  from  Meshed. 

Chooldee — 2000  houses  and  tents.     Toorks. 

Toorkeaya  Jelayer — 1500  houses.  Toorks.  Live  at  Kelat  e 
Nadiree. 

Leks  and  others — 1500  houses  and  tents. 

Toorkeeya  Janishloo — 3000  tents  and  houses.     Leks. 

Lek  and  other  tribes — 2500  tents  and  houses. 

Beyat  and  Khoorslidhee — 10,000  houses.  Toorks.  They  live  at 
Nishaboor. 

Miscellaneous — 1000  houses.  Live  in  Subsewar.  Language 
Turkish. 

Kelijci — 2000  houses.     Toorks.     Live  in  the  district  of  Joweu. 
Zaferanloo — 14,000  houses  and  tents.     Leks.     Live  at  Koochan. 
Kywanloo — 2000  houses  and  tents.     Leks.     Live  at  Eadkan. 
Shadloo — 3000  houses  and  tents.     Leks.     Live  at  Borjnoord. 
Amanloo — 1500  houses  and  tents.     Leks.     Live  at  Merdeshk. 


PERSIAN  TRIBES.  401 

My  informant  says  that  the  Arab  tribes  in  Khorassan 
speak  Arabic  ;  still,  I  think,  he  must  be  in  error. 

TRIBES  OF  KERMANSHAH. 

Gooran—  3300  houses  and  tents.     Leks. 

Kdhor — 11,500  houses  and  tents.  Leks.  The  women  are  hand- 
some, the  men  tall  and  strong  and  excellent  marksmen.* 

Zengeneh — 10,000  houses  and  tents.  Leks.  The  Sinjabees,  a 
lawless  tribe,  are  a  branch  of  Zengeneh — 2000  houses. 

Jelalawend — 300  houses  and  tents.     Leks. 

Balawend.         \ — 1000  houses  and  tents.     Leks.     Robust  and 

J'rujeenawend.  /       tall. 

Zobeirawend — 1000  houses  and  tents.     Leks. 

Kakawend — 2000  tents  and  houses.     Leks. 

Herseenee — 400  houses.     Leks. 

Jeleelawend.     \   600  houses  and  tents. 

Zoohh.  \  250  are  Leks. 

Miscellaneous.  }   1200. 

Nana  Kellee — 700  tents.     Leks. 

Ahmedawend.  j 

Pyrawend.        > — 750  houses  and  tents.     Leks. 

Bahtooee. 

Fedehgeree.       )_2000  houses  and  tents.     Leks  in  the  district  of 

Soofekwend.  Kooleeaeen. 

Vermezyar.       i 

Khodabendfhloo — 200  houses.     Toorks. 

Koozeeawend — 1500  tents.     Leks. 

The  above  list  of  the  tribes  of  Kermanshah  is  the  one  to 
which  I  can  least  trust.  The  clans  are  so  numerous  in 
that  province  that  a  Persian  could  hardly  enumerate  them 
without  committing  many  errors. 

The  tribes  in  the  district  of  Zohab  are  not  included  in 
the  above. 

Looristan  is  divided  into  Great  and  Little  Looristan.  The 
former  is  inhabited  by  the  large  tribe  of  Bakhtiaree,  con- 
taining many  thousand  tents  and  houses.  There  are  two 
great  branches  of  this  clan,  named  Cheharleng  and  Heft- 
leng,  of  which  the  subdivisions  are  numerous.  The  other 
tribes  of  Great  Looristan  are  named  Deenaranee  and  Jan- 
ekee.  All  the  tribes  in  Looristan  are  Leks. 


*  The  tribes  of  Goor.ln  and  Kelhor  are  sometimes  called  Koords. 
My  informant  says,  however,  that  they  are  positively  Leks. 


402 


PERSIAN  TRIBES. 


>    Leks. 


The  following  are  only  a  few  of  the  tribes  of  Little 
Looristan : — 

Gerawend — 1500  tents. 
JelcUawend — 1500  tents. 
Osmanawend' — 1800  tents. 
Shakhawend — 700  tents. 
Balawend— 1800  tents. 
Veeranawend — 600  tents. 
Del/an— 12,000  tents. 
Feilee— 12,000  tents. 
Habeebawend — 1500  tents. 
Seelaseel — a  large  tribe. 
Amaleh. 
Bajelan* 

Ardelan  is  a  province  on  the  west  of  Persia,  inhabited 
almost  exclusively  by  Koords,  who  during  the  last  and  the 
present  reign  have  been  completely  reduced  to  subjection. 


THE   END. 


LONDON:  FEINTED  BT  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,  STAMFORD  STREET, 
AND  CHARING  CROSS. 


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